


When the Sun Goes Down

by pepsicola



Category: South Park
Genre: F/M, M/M, Title is a lyric from "Lolita" by Lana Del Rey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-10-29 08:14:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 24,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17804363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pepsicola/pseuds/pepsicola
Summary: Summer is the best time of year.





	1. Chapter 1

**Would you be mine?**  
**Would you be my baby tonight?**  
**Could be kissing my fruit punch lips in the bright sunshine**  
**'Cause I like you quite a lot, everything you got**  
**Don't you know it's you that I adore?**  
**Though I make the boys fall like dominoes**

* * *

Fourteen is the product of seven times two. Two is the typical amount of people in a relationship. A relationship is an emotional or other connection between people. People is the plural form of person. A person is a human being regarded as an individual. Individual means single; separate, or a single human being as distinct from a group, class, or family.

Tricia “Ruby” Tucker was fourteen, a soon-to-be freshman in high school. Her older brother, Craig, was in a seven year relationship with his boyfriend, Tweek, who she adored so. She admired their unbreakable relationship. She wished she was in an unbreakable relationship with a person, a black haired individual from Canada, of all places.

She twirled a lock of her hair between her fingers. She hummed as she tried to focus on the book in her lap. “Lolita,” her favorite song, was stuck in her head. It was annoying the life out of her, even if she loved it. She just wanted to concentrate. The song probably popped into her mind because she was reading the book _Lolita._ The book and the song weren’t the only things on her mind. A person lurked there too. A person who’d lived in the back of her brain since the middle of seventh grade.

“That a good book?”

She turned to see her brother peering over her shoulder. Droplets of water from his hair fell onto the back of the couch. He’d just gotten out of the shower.

“Yes, actually,” she said.

“What’s it about?” He sat down next to her and turned on the TV. He flipped through the different channels until he found a rerun of his favorite show, Red Racer, playing.

“A twelve-year-old girl.”

“No shit, Ruby.”

Tricia stared down at the words in front of her. It was hard to focus when she had so much on her mind. So she snapped the book shut and stuffed it under the couch cushions. It wasn’t an exactly appropriate read for her age. She reached for her phone on the arm of the couch. She texted her friends to meet her at the basketball courts. She stood and stretched.

“I’m going out. Tell Mom and Dad so they don’t worry about me. If Dad starts to freak out that his precious little girl is missing, it’s your fault. I’ll be back when I’ve confirmed with my friends,” she said.

Craig waved a dismissive hand at her. “Yeah, yeah. Get out of here already,” he replied.

She grinned to herself as she pocketed her phone and stepped outside. She was hit by a blast of heat. July heat was the only heat in South Park, and it burned. It also gave her skin a golden suntan that lasted until late January. It was like that for her brother and mom too. She had a strong feeling it was because she’s a fourth Peruvian, but was born in a small mountain town where the snow never seemed to melt. The neighbor’s kids ran between the sprinklers. She snorted as she began walking to the courts.

When she got there, an argument between her friends was taking place. They were standing under a tree to keep out of the sun. Little kids ran about the pirate ship, laughing and playing. The structure seemed smaller now that she was bigger. She sighed and walked over to her friends. They were so into the conversation that they didn’t even notice her arrival. All three of them were gesticulating wildly with red, sunburnt faces. Sweat glistened on their foreheads. She stayed quiet and listened. As she did, she noticed a few people from her grade playing basketball. She crossed her fingers that no one would approach her. She hated getting noticed.

“Parties are stupid. They’re for conformists,” spat Firkle, scowling at them. He didn’t look as intimidating with a sunburn on his cheeks and his hair beginning to curl from humidity. Even in the summer, he still insisted on wearing all black.

“You’ve gotta come. Everyone’s gonna be there,” urged Ike. He caught sight of Tricia and shifted closer to her. With little expression crossing his face, he linked their pinkies. They always did this, and it always went undetected, even by their friends. Tricia kept a poker face too. Internally, she wondered, _Oh God, why do I like him so much?_

“No. I refuse. I’d rather die than go to a party hosted by Bebe Stevens,” Firkle objected.

Tricia decided now was a good time to step in. But not to settle the argument, oh no. She was going to add some fuel to this fire. “Firkle, you’d rather die than do, like, _anything_ ,” she snapped.

Her best friend, Karen, giggled. She adjusted her pastel purple and black blouse back on her shoulders. It was a little big for her. The skull wearing a bow printed onto the front was smudged with dirt. “Don’t worry, Firkle, I’ll die with you,” she joked. She wore a black skirt and black flats. A purple flower crown was positioned on her head. The tips of her dirty blonde hair were dyed lilac. Karen wasn’t _just_ a plain old goth like Firkle. She was a _pastel_ goth. It’s _different._

Ike smirked, suppressing a laugh. He traded a look with Tricia. His eyes gleamed as they glued to her face. She was cast under his spell, and didn’t want it to be broken. Her stomach swirled with butterflies. So much so that she had to look away.

Their friendship was so weird. It was more than platonic. She knew how he felt about her. It was so obvious. He was really bad at keeping his big Canadian mouth shut. For one, their pinkies _were_ linked at that very moment. The way he made it clear to her that he enjoyed her company was one piece of evidence. He also went out of his way to make sure she was comfortable and happy. He always called her “Ruby.” Not even Karen called her that all the time. She overheard Ike telling Firkle once that he insisted on calling her Ruby because a ruby was a jewel, and she was a precious jewel to him. Firkle, of course, told him to shut the fuck up with all his disgusting mushiness. When she heard that, her heart skipped a few beats and she was sure she was having a heart attack. If that didn’t say something, she didn’t know what did.

“What’s it matter if I go anyway? We’re all wallflowers. We won’t do anything,” Firkle pointed out.

Karen wilted. “It won’t be the same without you though.” It was Karen who brought Firkle into their “exclusive” friend group. She often hung out with the goths when they were younger. She had somewhat forced Firkle to join their group. He only stayed because of her. It was the obvious reason. The less obvious reason was that he enjoyed their company and the break from depressing alleyways and talk of death.

The corner of her mouth lifted in a smug smile when she noticed Firkle’s cheeks redden. He blinked at the McCormick girl. “No,” he said. It wasn’t as harsh as last time. It was softer, more willing now.

 _Only Karen,_ Tricia thought.

The pastel goth sighed at the _goth_ goth. “Pl—”

There was a cough from behind them, and the four of them turned. Karen was cut off by a group of kids who were shoving one of their friends forward. Tricia knew them from school. The one they were pushing towards her group used to be in three of her classes when school was still in. His name was Oliver. She was always stuck sitting next to him, not that she minded. He was nice. Smart too, but shy. She didn’t mind that. She didn’t talk much in class either.

Oliver stumbled over to her. He pushed up his glasses. He was shorter than her by a couple inches. He clung to the hem of his shirt in a way that reminded her of Tweek. Tricia was shocked the first time she found out he hung out with what was considered the “cool” crowd, which was really just a bunch of annoying kids who always got into trouble.

“Hi, Tricia,” he mumbled. His face was red.

“Hey, Ollie,” she said. She didn’t understand what was going on. Oliver’s friends laughed and whispered amongst themselves excitedly. Their eyes kept flicking to her for some reason. Her own friends stayed quiet, which was very unlike them. She bet they were all just as confused as her.

“Uh—um…” Oliver bit his lip. He looked up at her. He seemed to shrink. He spun on his heel, hissing to his friends, “I can’t do it!”

The only girl of the group scoffed. She crossed her arms. Rolled her eyes. “Oh my God, Oliver. Stop being a pussy,” she snapped. Tricia didn’t know her name, and didn’t care to learn, but she decided she hated the girl.

A boy with bleached hair shouted, “He likes you, Tucker!”

The revelation didn’t shock her as much as it should have. Tricia glanced at Oliver. He cringed. She heard Firkle whisper to Karen, “He looks like he wants to die. I don’t blame him.”

She giggled, then gently smacked him.

Tricia asked, “Do you, Ollie?”

He gulped. He opened his mouth, but took off running instead. _Poor kid,_ she thought. His friends started laughing. Suddenly, she realized why these “cool” kids kept a nice boy like Oliver around.

She scowled and flipped them off in that traditional Tucker way. She flushed with rage. She hated it when nice people got taken advantage of. They used them, then humiliated them when they were of no longer of use to them. The kids rolled their eyes at her and walked away.

With them gone, she wondered if what they said about Oliver was true. If it wasn’t, then she’d make it her personal responsibility to get revenge on those assholes. If it was, she understood why.

Her brother was considered the cutest boy in his class by the girls, even if he wasn’t even _slightly_ interested in them. Since they came from the same parents, they shared the same beguiling features. It didn’t help that she had wavy strawberry blonde hair that was commonly split into two pigtails. Or that her eyes were the palest green, or that she had a small nose and full lips. Her parents were tall, her brother was tall. She inherited the long legs gene. This all came together and, annoyingly, made her the prettiest girl in her grade, according to both girls and guys. She had the complexion of a nineteen-year-old over a girl who just graduated middle school. She understood that this was her parents’ reason for not allowing her to wear any makeup aside from mascara and chapstick. Eyeliner on special occasions.

She was still sneering, even with them gone. She turned back to her friends and noticed the silence and the dark looks on their faces. They stared daggers after the group of kids. Firkle had his hand on his left hip, where he kept his switchblade tucked into his belt. Karen’s fists were balled, about ready to punch one of them. Ike was scowling, teeth grinding together. He looked prepared to _kill,_ and that made her heart dance. They, too, saw those kids’ motives with Oliver, the nice smart boy with black glasses. Her and her friends weren’t saints, but they knew not to use people then throw them away.

She cleared her throat. Their expressions vanished. She picked up the conversation where it was dropped. She’d make sure Oliver was okay the next time she saw him. She didn’t know when that would be though. But at that moment, the matter was forgotten entirely. “About that party tonight. Everyone going into high school and those who already attend are gonna be there. If you’re trying to make a statement how, like, ‘nonconformist’ you are by not going, Firkle, it won’t work. In fact, it’d be pretty conformist to _not_ go,” she said. She made that last part up, but the rest she stood by.

Karen took his hand. She offered, “I won’t go if you don’t. Would you rather that?”

Firkle blushed again. He didn’t snatch his hand away from Karen. Of course not. He just stared at her, debating. Tricia knew he wouldn’t want her to miss out on the fun. If Firkle didn’t go, what guaranteed Karen would still go at all? If one person in their group wasn’t going, then no one else would. And Tricia _needed_ to go. Ike needed to go. She had a confession for him that was long overdue, and the party was the perfect place to do it. Everyone would be so wrapped up in their own lives that they wouldn’t notice them gone. If none of them ended up going, she’d have to take another year to muster the bravery.

Finally, Firkle made his decision. “Fine. I’ll go. But you all owe me.” He stared at each of them pointedly to further his point.

They all nodded in agreement.


	2. Chapter 2

**Kiss me in the d-a-r-k dark tonight**  
**D-a-r-k, do it my way**  
**Kiss me in the p-a-r-k park tonight**  
**P-a-r-k, let them all say**

* * *

When the sun set, all was silent. As soon as the clock struck eight, the party started. Everyone attending had received news that the party was no longer at Bebe’s house, but at Stark’s Pond instead. The blonde must’ve realized how big the turnout was going to be, and that her house couldn’t hold that many people. She made the smart decision by moving the location.

It was still hot outside, even with the sun gone and the moon replacing it. Tricia walked ahead of Craig and Tweek. They were only going to keep an eye on her. It _was_ her first high school party, and things could get wild. Especially if Bebe Stevens was hosting. They decided to chaperone to make sure she didn’t get into any trouble.

Tricia thought about the night ahead of her, what she would do. She was reviewing her plan, but it had to be put on pause when her brother spoke up.

“I want you to always be in my line of sight, okay?” Craig always claimed he didn’t care about anyone or anything, but that was a fat lie. He cared more than anyone. He continued, “Don’t take any drinks people offer you. Or food, for that matter. Not even pizza. _Specifically_ don’t accept brownies. Only eat food Tweek or myself give you, okay?”

“Yeah, man. These parties always have alcohol and drugs smuggled into them. That’s why we never attend these things anymore,” Tweek added. He threw an accusing look at Craig. “Or at least, _I_ don’t.”

Craig shrugged as if to say, _Sorry?_

Tricia toyed with the hem of her teal sundress. She’d changed from her T-shirt and ratty jeans because they were soaked through with sweat after she and her friends ran around the park playing tag, even if Firkle hated it. Despite not caring about what other people think, she wanted to make a good first impression. She didn’t know why. She tucked a flyaway piece of hair from her braid behind her ear. “I won’t take any sweets or fruit punch from anyone. I solemnly swear.” She didn’t swear to stay where they could see her though. That didn’t work with her plan. Plus, she wasn’t five! She knew to not get lost or swept in with the bad crowd. They needed to give her more credit for these things!

She felt a hand pat her head. She looked up to see Craig smirking proudly at her. She swatted his hand away and flipped him off. When she turned back around, Stark’s Pond was in clear view. They were an hour late, but she doubted anyone would notice.

The pond was crowded with teens who held red plastic cups in their hands. Loud music blared from speakers. Some people were even in the water, swimming around. Tricia slowed her pace, sticking herself between Craig and Tweek. They broke their hold on each other and took one of her hands instead. Normally, being treated like a toddler would piss her off, but when drunk and high teenagers started greeting them—namely her chaperones—she decided not to drop their hands, even if it was kind of embarrassing.

“Look who showed up, everyone! The power couple of the town!” some guy shouted, sort of mockingly. He was ignored by the two, along with the eyes and drunken cheers that followed, and Tricia was tugged along instead.

“Where are your friends?” Craig asked. “They’re here, right?”

“Well, yeah, but we didn’t plan a place to meet.” She was too busy planning for something else. “The location was changed before we had a chance to talk about it.”

Craig grunted but continued to drag her through the crowd. They passed the pond, making their way towards the trees on the opposite side. Tricia caught sight of Oliver, but pointedly tried to not be seen. She hated love triangles and didn’t want to be caught up in one.

“Where are we going?” she wondered.

Tweek explained, “Bebe always hosts parties but never joins in. Her and all our friends usually lock themselves away from the madness. In this case, we’re outdoors, so they’ll be somewhere secluded.”

A couple of yards into the trees lead to an unreserved campsite. Here, the trees blocked out the music. Just as Tweek predicted, all of their friends were sat in a circle around a flickering campfire. Karen spotted her and waved her over. Where Ike and Firkle was, she didn’t know. Tricia let go of her brother’s and Tweek’s hands as she sat beside her friend. “I was wondering when you’d show up!” Karen exclaimed. She’d kept on the same outfit she was wearing earlier in the day.

Tricia shrugged. “We didn’t wanna get here too early.”

A new voice joined their conversation.“If only you were here sooner. Jimmy’s telling this awesome ghost story about the Indian burial ground around here.” Karen’s brother, Kenny, sat to his sister’s left with his arm around Henrietta.

Tricia said, “Too bad. I love a good ghost story,” and stared across the fire at Jimmy. He was dramatically waving his hands about as he spoke. She saw Tweek and Craig sit down beside Clyde, who was next to Bebe, who was next to Jimmy. Tweek and Craig were already wrapped up in each other’s arms. She gave them ten minutes before their world disappeared around them as they began to make out.

To her right, Tricia spotted Ike sitting between Kyle and Stan. The older boys were whispering things to their girlfriends. Ike’s elbows were resting on his knees, face in his hands, listening to Jimmy’s story. But he must’ve felt her eyes on him because he turned to look her way. He flashed her a smile. Their gaze locked for a moment before Tricia had to turn her head to avoid his stare. It made her insides turn to jelly and her cheeks flush.

Past Kenny was Firkle, smoking a cigarette as he leaned against a tree. He didn’t look too happy to be there, but he never looked happy. Smoke left through his nose.

Karen suddenly said, “I tried to get him over here, but he was being stubborn about smoking.” She beckoned him over.

He stared back for a minute before dropping the cigarette and crushing it under his heel. He pushed himself off the trunk of the tree and walked towards them. Tricia moved over so he would have no choice but to sit beside Karen. He narrowed his eyes at her. Tricia bit back a grin. He lowered himself to the ground anyway. “These people have no idea how to tell a good ghost story. They’re such conformists,” he  muttered.

“Why don’t _you_ tell one then? Show them how it’s done. I love your stories. I’m sure they would too,” said Karen. She smiled her bright smile at him.

In the light provided by the campfire, Tricia caught Firkle blush. “Maybe,” he said.

“Ruby.”

Tricia whirled to find Ike sitting next to her. His fingers were overlapping hers as he sat. The touch was anything but accidental. “What?” she said. Her words came out strained. She was too focused on the contact of their hands.

He opened his mouth, but the words must’ve died in his throat because nothing came out. He glanced away from her face. Eventually he pushed out, “Nothing. I just....” He trailed off. He looked down at his lap. His fingers flitted over hers as he lifted a hand to ruffle his black hair nervously.

Tricia’s hands turned to fists at her sides. This was too much for her to take. Her plan desperately demanded be put into motion. It’s not like she had forever. Her worked up courage needed to be put to use before it dissipated. In order to engage her plan, her chaperones needed to be distracted. Her eyes caught sight of Tweek and Craig through the fire. Their innocent pecks were quickly escalating into passionate kisses.

Tricia tuned into Jimmy’s story, patiently waiting. She was painfully aware of Ike shifting closer beside her. _Any time now,_ she thought. Ike’s shoulder skimmed her own and her thoughts were scattered like sand. His cotton shirt was soft against her skin. She wondered if he did it purposely, or on accident. Her face grew hot, and not because of the fire. She couldn’t take this.

She focused on her brother. If he noticed her intense staring, he’d be weirded out. Maybe even typically flip her off. Except he didn’t notice, because he and Tweek were already devouring each other’s mouths. Clyde watched in a way one would watch an intense football game. Token on their other side rolled his eyes, though he smiled, as he laid his head on top of Nichole’s. Jimmy went on with his story. People listening flinched at his sharp words. Butters pressed himself into Eric’s side. Eric grinned down at him, putting a thumb under his chin and tilting up Butters’ face to his. Tricia read his lips as he said, “Chill, bitch.” Karen and Firkle were caught up in their own conversation, whispering to each other.

Now was her moment. Tricia prepared herself, going over her spontaneous plan in her head. She exhaled to calm her pounding heart. Was she really going to do this? She tapped Ike’s shoulder. Too late to go back now. He glanced at her, question in his eyes. She leaned over, murmuring in his ear, “I need to talk to you. Make sure no one notices us leave.”

Ike nodded, slowly rising to his feet with Tricia. They glanced over their shoulders as they tiptoed away. No one even looked in their direction. Not even Karen and Firkle. It was scary how easy it was to sneak off. People were _so_ unaware of their surroundings.

Tricia led Ike deeper into the trees. Twigs and dried up leaves snapped and crunched underfoot. The moonlight filtering through the leaves on the trees lit a pale path for them to follow. They could still see the orange glow of the campfire, but they were far enough away to talk without anyone overhearing them.

When they stopped where the trees concealed them, Ike asked, “What is it? Is everything okay?” He stared at her with furrowed eyebrows and those stupid brown eyes that always reminded her of maple syrup. Ike wasn’t much taller than her, maybe an inch or so. They were about the same height, but he was still growing, whereas she knew she’d stopped.

Her hands were disgustingly clammy as she fiddled with her dress. She looked down at her dirty black Converse. Was it weird that she was wearing sneakers with a dress? Was she pulling it off? Did she look stupid? Why was she so self-conscious suddenly?

“Ruby?” Ike put a hand on her arm. A shiver went through her bones at the touch. His eyebrows threaded even more together. “Are you cold—?”

Tricia shook her head. “I’m fine.”

There was silence. The music in the distance pulsated around them. She felt like they were in a bubble. Ike shifted from foot to foot, looking everywhere but her. “Since we’re here, I actually have something to tell you myself.” Tricia looked at him. She could see what was coming next. He continued to fidget under her gaze. He spoke slowly, unsurely, “I, um…” He cleared his throat. He ground out, “I… like you. I have since fifth grade. I don’t know if you feel the same—you don’t have to—but, I just—”

Tricia didn’t let him finish. His stuttered words sounded so good out loud. She clutched the neck of his shirt with both hands as she shoved him against the tree behind him. They stumbled over twigs and roots. His back collided with the bark. Her front collided with him. She fiercely slammed her lips to his. She stood there for a moment, pinning him to the tree. When she felt him try to reciprocate, she pulled back a few inches. Into his ear, she whispered,“I feel the same way.”

Ike stared at her with wide eyes. This only lasted a fraction of a second before his hands landed on the small of her back. He closed the distance between them and dropped a heavy kiss on her mouth. She tilted her head. Her arms snaked around his neck, pulling him closer. Her knees went weak. There went her plan, gone with the light summer breeze. But this was better than she could’ve ever expected to happen. Things were much better when done on impulse. She couldn’t stop her jaw from falling, and didn’t want to, especially when Ike’s tongue slid past hers. The kiss was wet and clumsy and inexperienced, but in some strange way, that made things better. Her face burned with a blush. She never knew she felt _that_ much about him. She didn’t _realize_ how much she wanted that moment. She shivered again, this time in pleasure. He tasted like maple syrup, just like she imagined.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey Lolita, hey!**  
**Hey Lolita, hey!**  
**I know what the boys want, I'm not gonna play**  
**Hey Lolita, hey!**  
**Hey Lolita, hey!**  
**Whistle all you want, but I'm not gonna stay**  
**No more skipping rope**  
**Skipping heartbeats with the boys downtown**  
**Just you and me feeling the heat**  
**Even when the sun goes down**

* * *

Tricia’s heart was pounding in time with the bass in each song at the party. She was so close to Ike that they were sharing oxygen. She kept her body pressed to his. She didn’t want to move away. The feeling was mutual. Their lips mashed together in a way that an outsider would call unpleasant, but they weren’t feeling the fire growing in her stomach each time Ike licked her bottom lip. The world melted away, and she finally understood the fervent affection Craig would show Tweek on a daily basis.

Eventually, they had to break the kiss to catch their breath. They pressed their foreheads against each other, mainly for support. They were both numb. Tricia stared at Ike, panting, eyes glinting. His fingers dug into her back as he pushed her against a tree of her own. His lips touched hers once more. This kiss was gentle and sweet, a delicate brush.

“We should probably get back before someone notices,” she said. Just because she put it out there didn’t mean she wanted to leave. Ike read her mind like he always did. He was so good at that.

His voice was low and husky as he mumbled, “A few more minutes. Promise.” His words slurred together as he captured his lips in hers. Tricia’s fingers curled into his soft hair at the nape of his neck. She leaned in for more. He complied.

A puff of his breath fanned out over her rosy cheeks. She looked into his eyes. They were so beautiful. They reminded her of autumn leaves. She’d dreamt of this moment for so long, and now it was finally reality. She wanted it to last forever, but that couldn’t be. They needed get back to the campfire before someone noticed their disappearance and questioned them. She expressed this aloud to him.

He sighed. “Okay.” He let her go with obvious reluctance. Tricia straightened out her dress, face still heated. She stuck out her hand, unwilling to look at his reaction to the gesture. This was the first time _she_ initiated the hand holding. Before, it wasn’t even proper hand holding. Just linked pinkies. She relaxed when he took it. Their fingers locked into place like puzzle pieces. Ugh.

They walked back the way they came. They didn’t speak. The traded kisses burned in their minds. Once they were past the line of trees, their hands dropped. Tricia knew their brothers wouldn’t be too thrilled if they find out that their siblings were interested in each other. And it wasn’t a little infatuation. She knew that much.

They took their places from before sneaking off. They listened to the story, pretending nothing happened. Ike’s fingers slid into hers. She tucked their joined hands under the fabric of her dress, just in case. Otherwise, they looked just as they did before they left.

Jimmy’s story ended, and people were silent. They were staring at him in horror. “I think I’m gonna have nightmares for a week,” Tweek said.

“Yeah, me too,” Butters added, nuzzling his nose into the neck of Eric’s red windbreaker.

Karen nudged Firkle. “You tell your story now,” she mumbled.

Firkle looked around him. People were resuming conversations. He shook his head. “No. I’m good.”

Tricia saw Craig cross over to her, holding a plate of pizza and a can of Cola. He handed them to her. “Tweek was nice and got these for you. He confirmed with Wendy that they aren’t corrupted. You better eat up. We aren’t eating when we get home, and I’m not making you anything. Don’t even _try_ to convince Tweek to make you anything either,” he said. “‘Cause you know he’ll do it.”

She took them from him. “Thanks.” Her brother left to return to his boyfriend. Speaking of boyfriend, what did that make her and Ike? They’d always had a gray type of relationship. Now she was more confused than ever. She would have to get that cleared up. She hated not knowing things

Ike was maple syrup to Tricia. It was weird, but everything about him brought the analogy to mind. His eyes, the way he tasted, he was Canadian, he even smelled like maple syrup. He was sweet. So sweet. She remembered one day earlier that year that was particularly crystal clear.

They were partnered up for a project in English. They had to create a model that represented their favorite part in the book they read with said partner. They were walking home together. They were going to work at his house, since his parents wouldn’t be home until late. Tricia was flipping through the book to where her bookmark held their favorite part. They unanimously agreed that the cliche watching-the-sunset, confessing-their-love-for-each-other part was the best. They chose the scene for the sake of irony.

Ike had unlocked the front door. They took off their shoes and jackets and marched up to his room. Tricia collapsed on his bed. Ike sat down at his desk, taking out their rough draft of the model from his backpack. Tricia reread the part aloud, snickering between each sentence.

“God, this is so stupid,” she groaned.

Ike nodded. “Yep.” He took the poster board from beside him. “You have the water colors, right?” She heard him unzip her backpack and rummage through it.

“Yeah. I paint, you draw?” she asked. Ike was _much_ better at drawing than her.

“Obviously. You can’t draw for shit.” He spread the poster board on the floor, getting on his hands and knees. He set up the paints and paintbrushes. Tricia slid off the bed and joined him.

“If this ends up looking terrible, it’s not my fault,” she warned. She watched over Ike’s shoulder as he started drawing. He glanced at his rough draft for reference.

It was quiet. Tricia was on her stomach next to him, holding her chin in her hands. His hand quickly moved across the paper, but his lines were light and even. “Cliche kisses are the best kinds of cliche,” she blurted.

Ike stopped to look at her. He was grinning. “Oh yeah? What’s your ideal first kiss then?”

“Watching the sun disappear behind the mountains, the sky splattered orange, with my lover staring deeply into my eyes as we meet in the middle, and the world has to fade away as our lips slowly connect. Obviously,” she said.

Ike rolled his eyes. “How strange. Your fantasy sounds exactly like the scene we’re doing this project on!” he exclaimed sarcastically. They shared a laugh before he said, “But seriously. What do you want your first kiss to be like?”

Tricia thought. She looked into Ike’s eyes, which immediately made her blush, but she refused to look away. “I dunno. It has to be in the dark. There’s just something _so_ romantic about darkness,” she said.

“It’s also suggestive, if you look at it from a certain angle.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

“Ike, I will rip your maple syrup dick off if you say that again,” she threatened. Ike’s face turned firetruck red. His blush always started from his freckled nose and spread to the rest of his face. “What about you?” she wondered.

He shrugged. “I don’t care. As long as it’s with the person who I want to have my first kiss with,” he said. “Well, a first kiss I _actually_ want it to be with. Bad decisions made in kindergarten don’t count. But… just with the person who I want to kiss.” His eyes met hers.

“Who’s that?” she asked. She had a strong hunch of who that person might be. She also knew he would dodge the question, but it was worth a shot.

Ike chuckled nervously, ruffling his hair. “I can’t tell you that! It’s a secret. The whole point of a secret is to not tell,” he said.

Tricia sat up and scooted closer to him. Their knees touched. She tilted her head, resting her arms on his shoulders. “Ruby?” His voice wavered. “What are you doing?”

“I don’t know.”

They sat like that for an hour or a minute. Behind his long, dark lashes, she stared into his brown eyes. They flickered back and forth between her green ones. But the moment was promptly broken when Tricia’s face started heating up. She pulled back, turning to the forgotten poster board. She coughed into her fist. “Sorry,” she mumbled.

She busied herself by opening the watercolors and pulling out the paintbrushes. Ike fetched water from the bathroom. Tricia was left wondering what she was thinking, doing what she did, for the remaining time they worked on their project, up until she had to go home at six.

Tricia blinked, returning to the present. She registered the dying fire, the twinkling stars, and, best of all, Ike’s hand enveloping her own. Her pizza had gone cold. She shakily sipped at her soda. They’d had their first kiss just the way they wanted. For her, in the dark. Ike had his second first kiss with that person he wanted to have it with.

Her lips tingled. It was from the carbonation in the soda, she told herself, but she doubted it deep down. She wanted to be kissing Ike, not sitting on the dirty ground surrounded by kids older than her. She squeezed his hand. He turned to her. Quickly, she planted a kiss on his cheek. As soon as she pulled back, she stuck the pizza in her mouth to avoid any mention of what she just did.

Hours passed. It was midnight now. The party was still raging, though the crowd was less dense. Tricia chatted up her friends, all while keeping hers and Ike’s joined hands out of sight in the folds of her dress. Her brother checked on her occasionally. When he would come over, she would momentarily let go of Ike’s hand.

Kyle approached them. “C’mon, Ike. Mom wants us back home now,” he said.

Ike glanced at Tricia, then back at his brother. “Okay. Hang on,” he said. He dragged her back into the thick of the woods. “Are we, like, in a relationship now?” he asked.

She smiled radiantly, blushing. She shrugged, attempting to come off as nonchalant. She probably just looked silly and way too happy to be chill. “Only if you want to,” she responded.

Ike kissed her cheek. “Is that answer enough for you?” He returned her smile.

“Ike! Where did you go?” Kyle yelled from the distance. “We have to leave before Mom decides to ground us! Do you _want_ that? _”_

Ike rolled his eyes. “He probably just wants me at home so he can go to Heidi's and eat her out," he muttered. Tricia slapped a hand over her mouth as she laughed. Ike grinned. "Bye, Ruby.”

“See you tomorrow or something, dork,” she replied. Her face was overheating. She was sweating, and she hoped he didn’t notice. She was sure he wouldn’t care even if he did. They grew up together. They knew each other like the backs of their hands. He walked away. Tricia stayed where she stood, grinning like an idiot. Her nails dug into her palms as she tried to contain her happiness. She was going to burst at the seams from ecstasy.

She ran back to the campfire, a bounce in her steps. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs. Karen and Firkle took note of this. “Why are you so happy? It’s great, but what happened?” Karen said.

Firkle raised an eyebrow.

Tricia covered her mouth. She couldn’t stop grinning. She bet she looked _so_ stupid. “I’ll tell you some other time. Not now. There’s too many people around.”

Karen’s face also broke into a smile. She gasped. “Did something happen with Ike? He disappeared and you did too, so I thought something was up!” she squealed. She took her best friend’s hands and jumped up and down.

“Did that annoying Canadian finally grow a pair and ask you out?” said Firkle.

Tricia wriggled a hand free from Karen to flip him off.

Kenny walked up to them and put a hand on his sister’s shoulder. “Karen, we’re going. It’s late. I don’t want you to be outside at this time of night,” he said.

Karen nodded. “Okay. Bye, Ruby. Bye, Firkle.” She waved at them as her brother steered her back towards the lake.

Firkle stepped up. “I’m leaving too. I don’t want to be here any longer than I have to be,” he said. He looked away to avoid Karen’s bright smile that was beaming back at them as she walked.

Tricia was left alone with her thoughts. She should probably find her brother. She didn’t want to be there now that all her friends were gone. She pushed past Clyde and Token and slapped Craig’s arm. He stopped talking to his friends to glare at her. “What?” he said.

“I wanna go home. All my friends left. And I’m tired.” She faked a yawn.

Craig rolled his eyes. “All right, then. See you guys. I gotta attend to Her Majesty again,” he grumbled. He took Tweek’s hand and lead them away from the campfire. Randomly, he asked her, “Why are your cheeks so red, Ruby?”

She startled. “Huh? What? They’re not,” she lied. She felt her cheeks heat up again. How could he even see the color in her face if it was dark?

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Craig smirk and nudge Tweek. Tweek mirrored his boyfriend’s expression. They looked at her. “No, you’re hiding something. You always tug on your hair when you lie,” he said.

Tricia dropped her hand to her side. She didn’t realize she was doing it. “It’s none of your business either way,” she snapped. She stomped ahead of them, shoving people who got in her way to the ground. They cried out to her in protest. She promptly flipped them off.

“Tweek’ll get it out of you sooner or later,” her brother snickered.

She could practically feel their smiles directed at her back. She loved them both, but they were so annoying sometimes.


	4. Chapter 4

**I could be yours, I could be your baby tonight**  
**Topple you down from your sky forty stories high**  
**Shining like a god**  
**Can't believe I got you, and so**  
**Look at what I bought**  
**Not a second thought - oh, Romeo**

* * *

On the following Wednesday, two and a half weeks after the party, Tricia laid on Ike’s bed with him as they watched one of his YouTuber’s Let’s Plays. They shared an earbud. She often came over to his house more than any their other friends. They didn’t mind, only because Karen was so insistent on getting Tricia and Ike together, and Firkle went along with anything Karen said.

Ike locked his fingers into place with hers. She bit her lip to hold back a squeal of delight. When she’d gotten home from the party, she ran up to her room and screamed into her pillow. Her parents and brother thought she was angry. She was anything but. She danced around her room, shining with elation. Her mom had knocked on her door, asking if she was okay. She replied that she was great, but she was sure her mom took it with sarcasm.

The YouTuber in the little window at the bottom left of the screen mentioned something about maple syrup. She missed most of the sentence. She was too focused on the hand in hers.

Ike sat up suddenly, turning off his phone. The earbud fell out of her ear. He gazed at her, amused. “What?” she asked. She squirmed under his eyes. She felt weird, laying down with him sitting up. The thought alone made her blush. She swiftly erased the image that came to mind.

A smirk slowly edged onto his mouth. “You’ve always compared various of my body parts to maple syrup. I thought those were just creative threats, but now I’m thinking there was more behind that.” His smirk grew wider. “Isn’t it?”

Tricia’s blush intensified. She covered her face with her hands. “Ugh,” she groaned. “Shut your big Canadian mouth.”

Ike laughed. “You even called my d—”

Tricia launched herself at him in an attack. His sides were most ticklish. His sentence was cut off by a fit of laughter. She tickled him until he was begging her to stop. “No. Not until you drop whatever you were about to bring up,” she said.

“Okay!” More laughter. “Okay, I will. I swear, Ruby,” he giggled.

She released him from the wrath of her quick fingers. “And it’s not like you don’t make weird analogies, hypocrite. You call me ‘Ruby.’ I compare you to maple syrup. You _are_ from Canada, after all. It works. So what?”

He scrambled off the bed, a shit-eating grin on his face. He distanced himself before blurting, “It’s not like I’ve ever compared _your_ dick to maple syrup. And, hey, isn’t syrup sweet? And if you’re calling my dick that—” He exploded with laughter.

She shrieked in horror and embarrassment. Her face was glowing red. She jumped off the bed and onto him. He toppled over, landing on his back. Straddling his waist, she resumed her tickle assault, merciless this time. She didn’t stop when he tried to push her off. Or when tears came to his eyes while he was shouting apologies.

When Tricia could no longer continue through her delirious giggles, she let her fingers rest on his chest. “I hate you,” she said when they quieted down.

He looked up at her. “Aww, c’mon, Ruby. You know you love me,” he said. His tone was playful.

Tricia sighed happily. “You’re not wrong,” she replied. They always made these jokes, but this time was different.

Ike chuckled twice before abruptly stopping to say, “Wait, what?”

But the door started to open before he could question her further. His mom was standing there, one hand on the doorknob, other on her hip. “I heard screaming and thudding. What is going on up here—?” She must’ve just registered what she was seeing.

 _Shit, this probably looks bad in her eyes,_ Tricia thought, wincing. Her and Ike’s faces were red, Tricia’s hair a mess, and their clothes were rumpled. Worst of all, she was sitting on top of Ike while they were sprawled out on the floor. Tricia scrambled off him, choosing to sit beside him instead.

The sight plus the thudding and screaming split into three possibilities in Tricia’s mind, and probably Mrs. Broflovski’s too. Fighting, hardcore making out, or worse. Mrs. Broflovski most likely thought it was either one of the last two. Tricia could tell by the somewhat angry and very intense questioning look on her face. She looked about ready to scold them. Tricia forced down a blush so she didn’t confirm any of Ike’s mom’s suspicions.

“We’re just messing around, Mom,” Ike said. The eyebrow raised. His face flushed. “Wait, no! I didn’t mean it like that—!”

“Both of you downstairs where I can see you, now!” Mrs. Broflovski ordered.

Tricia and Ike got to their feet. Ike hung his head. Tricia kept hers held high. She was a Tucker and Tuckers don’t show defeat. “Mom, we weren’t messing around like _that._ We were just playing. We weren’t doing what you’re thinking!” he exclaimed.

Mrs. Broflovski shook her head. “I don’t care, Ike. You two are older now, and you need to be supervised,” she said. “I’ve been thinking about this for a while now. And what I saw just now pushed me further.”

Ike threw up his hands in exasperation. “Mom!”

They marched down the stairs. Mrs. Broflovski herded them to the couch. “Sit down, go on,” she ordered. She left the living room, entering the kitchen. “Lunch will be ready soon.” Tricia’s stomach grumbled at that. She’d been at the Broflovski household since ten in the morning. She skipped out on breakfast too. She’d snacked on popcorn and junk food she’d been offered, but it just wasn’t satisfying.

Ike and Tricia awkwardly sat side by side on the couch. She kept her hands in her lap. He pressed his shoulder against hers. It was little actions like that that confirmed her suspicions of him liking her all those months ago.

There were footsteps coming down the stairs. The two turned. It was Kyle. He was still in his pajamas. Considering Tricia hadn’t seen him at all for the two hours she’d been there, it made sense. When she'd asked Ike where his brother was when she arrived, he told her he got home late from Heidi's, like he'd suspected. “What the hell were you two doing up there? I was talking to Stan, and suddenly there was screaming,” he said. His voice was croaky, like he’d just woken up not too long ago.

Ike rolled his eyes. He whispered in her ear, “He always talks to him as soon as he wakes up. Just reaches over and calls him while he’s half asleep.” He directed his attention back at his brother. “Why don’t you just invite your boyfriend over? He already practically lives here,” he said.

Tricia bit back a smile. Ike glanced at her, mirroring her expression. Both of them knew Heidi and Kyle were dating, and Stan and Wendy were dating. Heidi and Kyle had been dating for almost two years, Wendy and Stan for three. Ike even told her he once walked in on Kyle fondling Heidi’s right boob as they heavily made out with The Weeknd playing in the background. Ike said he was almost disappointed to see that Heidi still had her bra on, and Tricia had smacked him. But they both knew Kyle held something more than platonic feelings for his super best friend.

“ _Ike!_ ” Kyle exclaimed, red faced. He scrambled for a retort. “Why don’t you shut up and make out with Tricia instead?”

 _Nice comeback, Kyle,_ she thought when Ike’s face transformed into a tomato.

Ike took a page out of the Tucker handbook and flipped his brother off. Tricia snorted. That turned into a giggle, which ended up being howling laughter at the action and the expression that followed it. She rolled onto the carpet, cackling like a witch. She had _such_ a disgusting laugh. Kyle stared at her, confused and bewildered. Ike smiled widely down at her. Kyle shook his head. He went into the kitchen.

Tricia wiped away a tear. “Oh good Lord, that was hilarious,” she said.

Ike offered her a hand. She took it, but didn’t let him help her up. She yanked on his arm, and he tumbled on top of her. Ike sputtered as he scrambled off her, blushing as he sat up. She snickered, too amused to blush herself. To get even more reaction out of him, she laid her head on his lap. She flicked the side of his nose. His head jerked back. She giggled.

“What’s wrong with you? Are you okay? Why are you acting like this?” he croaked.

She got up, her face an inch from his. She crawled into his lap. She touched their noses. “You might as well be permanently blushing around me,” she mumbled, smiling.

He stammered out what sounded like “Wh-what are you doing, Ruby?”

She tipped her head, grazing her lips against his. “I like you,” she whispered. She giggled hysterically. “I like you a _lot_.” Each time she spoke, their lips brushed. It tickled. She hummed, cherishing the moment. She loved the feeling of his sharp breathing drift over her face.

Ike started to say, “Rub—” but he was cut off by his mom, who shouted, “Lunch, kids!”

Tricia stood, taking Ike up with her. They held each other’s hands until they got to the kitchen doorway, where they had to let go. Hesitantly. Ike’s fingers lingered over her own. He was probably still shaken about her touchy-feely episode.

But she wasn’t finished yet.

They sat down next to each other, digging into their sandwiches in front of them. Mrs. Broflovski set down a plate for her and her husband at the heads of the table. “I’m going to get Gerald,” she said. She exited the kitchen.

Tricia knocked her bare feet against Ike’s. He glanced at her, still red. She sent back a smile. Kyle examined them with suspicious confusion. His eyes flew back and forth, trying to figure out what was going on. The table was silent aside from the munching of bread and gulping of water. Ike’s hand shook as he lifted his cup to his mouth. As he sipped, Tricia walked her fingers down his thigh tauntingly. She kept an innocent expression and pretended she was only eating, nothing else. Ike choked on his water. It spurted out his nose. She cracked up as he began coughing.

She patted his back as he wiped his mouth and nose. His face was blotchy. She wrapped him in a hug. “Oh my God, Ike,” she giggled. “Be _careful_.” Her tone was knowing.

“Okay, what the hell is going on here?” Kyle demanded.

Ike was in no manner to be speaking, so Tricia did it for him. “Ike apparently doesn’t know how to drink water, and it came out his nose. Poor thing,” she teased.

He shot her a dangerous look. She flipped him off. Kyle shook his head. “You two make no sense.” There was a knock on the door. Kyle stood. “Finally, dude,” he muttered under his breath. He left and Sheila and Gerald Broflovski entered.

Ike whispered to Tricia, “I don’t know what just happened, but Stan’s over here so much I’m actually shocked when he’s not.” He smirked.

She whispered back, “I’m surprised he wasn’t already sleeping over.” They let loose a fit of giggles.

"Nah. Like I said, Kyle was too busy sticking his dick in Heidi's vagina last night."

" _Ew_ , Ike."

Ike’s parents began to eat. Kyle dragged Stan into the room and shoved him into the seat next to him. They were talking about something, but Tricia didn’t care to listen in. She caught Heidi's name once. But other than that, it just didn’t sound interesting enough. That’s when Gerald Broflovski directed the hushed conversation he was having with his wife to Ike.

“So, Ike, your mom tells me she caught you and Tricia in the middle of something. According to her, you were both on the floor with Tricia straddling you.” Ike groaned and Tricia subtly rolled her eyes. “Your mom was saying how you two should be supervised more, and I agree,” he said.

Stan jumped into the conversation. “What happened?” he asked. “What’d I miss?”

Kyle was snickering when he said, “There was screaming and thudding and laughing coming from Ike’s room while he and Tricia were in there. And now apparently, Tricia was mounting Ike.”

It sounded _worse_ when it was worded _that_ way.

Stan chuckled, raising an eyebrow at them. “Oh _really_? Damn, Ike.”

Tricia gave Stan a nonchalant middle finger. Sheila made a sound of disapproval. Gerald cleared his throat. “I’m just saying, Ike. You’re not kids anymore. You’re gonna start having urges, if you haven’t already—”

Stan and Kyle started laughing. Ike slammed his hands on the table. “Okay, we’re done here. C’mon, Ruby.” He picked their sandwiches up off their plates and led her away.

“Ike, come back here!” his mom shouted.

As they marched through the living room, Ike called over his shoulder, "Hey, Mom! Kyle came home at four in the morning because he was busy having sex with Heidi last night! That's why he's so tired all the time, not because he's up studying!"

Tricia heard Mrs. Broflovski exclaim, _"_ _What?!"_ , followed by Stan's wince and Kyle's stammering.

Then they were out the door.

Ike expelled a huge sigh of relief. Tricia took her sandwich from him. She bit off a corner, chewing as she watched him scrub his face with his free hand. He was blushing crazy, and a sheet of sweat coated his forehead.

She suggested, “We should probably get going before your parents—I mean your _mom,_ really—hunts us down. Your dad’s probably proud, like, secretly though. He just won’t let your mom find out. And props to you for selling Kyle out like that.”

Ike looked at her through the gaps in his fingers. He strained out an “Okay.”

She grinned, peeling his hand from his face to hold in her own. After a few minutes of walking down the street, she stuffed the last of her sandwich in her mouth and let go of Ike’s hand. She pulled her phone from her pocket and texted Karen. After she got a reply, she said, “Let’s go to Firkle’s. He and Karen are there.”

Ike snorted. “Probably making out.”

Tricia picked up his hand again. “No, I doubt it. Firkle’s probably too scared to kiss Karen,” she argued. The goth couldn’t even look at the girl without blushing and looking away a second after.

“He’s scared of her brothers too. Kenny’s very protective over her, and would beat the life out of someone who broke his little sister’s heart. Kevin would hold them down, laughing like a madman as they watched the person’s life slowly slip away,” he added.

Tricia swung their joined hands back and forth. “Are you scared of _my_ brother?” she wondered.

Ike gazed at her. “Kinda. I’m more scared of your dad though.” He shuddered.

Tricia laughed, putting her head on his shoulder. “Yeah, Tweek was the same. But look now. Dad loves Tweek as much as his own son. My dad’s used to you. He’s gotta be by now,” she assured. “You’re over so much.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure. He thinks we’re just friends. He’ll probably hate me if he found out we were dating. And I’m Canadian. And Jewish. What if he thinks I’m using you?” he frets.

“First, what does being Canadian and Jewish have to do with anything? Two, I doubt he’ll think you’re using me. I’d, like, kick the shit out of you before he could.”

“Comforting,” he grumbled. “But I’m not using you.” He paused to finish his sandwich. “If I _was_ using you, I wouldn’t have taken things slow and waited seventeen days. I would’ve done it by now. Or, to be more accurate, done _you_ by now.”

Tricia slapped his arm. “You’re such an asshole.”

When they made it to Firkle’s house, Ike knocked. Tricia realized that she and Ike hadn’t told their closest friends that they were together. _Fantastic._ She dropped his hand, hissing in his ear, “We haven’t told them about us! We _need_ to. It’s been two and a half weeks. That’s two and a half weeks too long!”

He gaped at her, eyes wide. He opened his mouth to respond, but the door swung open. Firkle stood there, decked out in his usual black, his fringe swept back at the moment, curling slightly at the tips. That was probably the result of a sweet girl named Karen. As soon as his eyes landed on Ike, he groaned. “Ruby, I get that you have this bizarre obsession with Ike, but do you _really_ have to drag this stupid conformist Canadian along with you everywhere you go?” he asked. He stepped aside, allowing them in.

Tricia turned her palms to the ceiling. “I can’t do anything about that. Sorry. He follows me like a lost puppy.”

“Hey!” Ike protested. “You know very well that you care about us, Firkle. Don’t try to deny it.” He took off his shoes, setting them next to the door. Tricia did the same.

Firkle rolled his eyes. “No, I hate you all. I wouldn’t care if either of you died. I wouldn’t mourn. Karen’s upstairs,” he said, voice dull.

They marched upstairs, Tricia talking the lead. As soon as she entered the room, only lit up by a few dim candles, she flicked on the lights, much to Firkle’s objection, but he kept them on. She sat down on the floor next to Karen. She was holding up a compact mirror to her face. She stopped applying eyeliner to her waterline to greet them. “Hi, guys!” she said cheerfully. She swept a piece of lilac hair behind her ear.

Firkle leaned over, guiding her through it. He scooted closer, his putting hand on hers. He slowly nudged her hand along. He was more experienced with eyeliner than Karen or Tricia. He’d been putting the stuff on since he was in kindergarden. He was the one they went to if the girls needed eyeliner help. He didn’t mind.

Tricia flashed her a smile. “Hi. You guys, Ike and I have to tell you something.”

Taking the space next to her, Ike muttered, “A little straightforward, don’t you think?”

Firkle straightened from Karen’s face. He had the eyeliner pencil in his hand now. “Will it make me want to kill myself?” he asked. “Or do I have to kill someone for you?” His tone was hauntingly hopeful.

“Suicide is never the answer, Firkle,” Ike said. “And you’re a psychopath.”

Karen gasped. “Ooh! Can I guess?” Ike and Tricia nodded. “You guys finally dating!” she exclaimed. She crossed her fingers, bouncing. Tricia and Ike traded a look, which only made Karen squeal louder. Firkle plugged one of his ears, a grimace on his face. Karen squeezed Tricia. “I’m so happy for you guys! I knew it would happen eventually!”

Tricia laughed, hugging her best friend back. “Yup. Now Ike and I can play matchmaker and push you and Firkle together. Then we can go on double dates,” she joked. Sort of. She wasn’t joking about playing matchmaker, but she was about the double dates part. God, she wished that to never happen.

Firkle slapped a palm to his forehead. “Please, no double dates. I’d rather die than do something as conformist as that,” he snapped.

“I agree with the mopey goth,” Ike said.

Tricia told Karen, “Yeah… Ike and I haven’t even been on one date yet.”

There was silence for a heartbeat. Karen and Firkle were probably processing the news.

“So how’d it happen?”

Surprisingly, it was Firkle who asked this. Everyone was a bit shocked at his curiosity. Ike gaped, Karen was wide-eyed, and Tricia quirked an eyebrow. Firkle glanced at each of them. “What? Is it so bad that I want to know how my friends who had been pining over each other for eternity finally got together?” He faced his palms to them in mock surrender. “Because you don’t gotta answer,” he said flatly.

“Calm down. Give us _some_ time to tell you,” Ike said. “The way I saw it was that Ruby tapped my shoulder at the party, and dragged me into the woods. I told her I liked her—”

“A bit overdue, don’t you think?” Firkle interrupted. Karen shushed him with a hand to his knee.

Ike shot him a dirty look and continued, “Then she shoved me against a tree and started kissing me. She pulled back for a second to tell me she liked me too, then went back to kissing me. I remember the taste of her fruit punch chapstick. It was probably the greatest moment of my life.”

Firkle added, “Not to mention you’ve dreamt of making out with Tricia since fifth grade. And it was still Tricia who kissed you first.” That earned him a hard shove from Ike. Firkle pushed him back. “I have a switchblade, Broflovski, and I’m not afraid to use it.”

“Yeah right, Firkle. You’re too scared of jail to pull that thing on me,” Ike argued.

Karen ignored their empty threats and said, “That’s adorable!” She was _such_ a hopeless romantic.

Tricia playfully rolled her eyes. “Except _I_ wasn’t the only one who was desperate for kissing. You kissed me the second time, _and_ you made it an opened mouthed kiss!” she reminded Ike.

“Well, _I_ didn’t grab your shirt and shove you against a tree,” Ike said.

Firkle said, “You snuck off from a party, you confessed your disgusting feelings for each other, Ike was shoved against a tree, Tricia was French kissed, which means you made out _in the dark._ ”

Karen took the eyeliner from him. “Oh come on, Firkle. It’s cute. It’s about time they started dating,” she said.

Firkle laid his eyes on her. The eyeliner really brought out Karen’s violet irises. The stare off they had created tension obviously caused by their own sappy feelings for each other. This only lasted for a moment before he shrugged. “Maybe. I’m just glad Ike can shut up about Ruby now.”

“Shut the fuck _up_ , Firkle!” Ike hissed, blushing.

Tricia snorted. “You talk about me?” she asked.

He stammered. His ears and face resembled an apple. Tricia and Karen laughed at his expression. Sometimes he was too blushy for his own good. Tricia picked at the red nail polish on her fingers that was starting to chip off. She didn’t want to see his face when she admitted her own non stop chit chat about him. “I talk about you too, you know. Ask Karen,” she said.

Karen covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. “Oh yeah. Ruby’s _always_ talking about you. She talks about how you ruffle your hair when you’re nervous, or that soccer reminds you of Kick the Baby, or how much you admire Kyle and want to be just like him. She goes on and on about how good you are at hockey. She often compares you to maple syrup, which I think is a little weird—”

Tricia lightly kicked Karen’s foot. “Karen!” she hissed. “Not that far!”

Karen and Ike laughed while Firkle tried to force down a smile. The rest of the time went on with secrets being spilled and ever present rosy cheeks. Tricia and Ike left at four, waving to their friends as they closed the front door. They walked onto the street, discussing how cute of a couple Karen and Firkle would make. They would balance each other out. Firkle really needed someone to remind him to be happy. Karen was the perfect candidate for that.


	5. Chapter 5

**Kiss me in the d-a-r-k dark tonight**  
**D-a-r-k, do it my way**  
**Kiss me in the p-a-r-k park tonight**  
**P-a-r-k, let them all say**

* * *

Ike wasn’t picking up his phone or answering any of his texts. Their mom had instructed Kyle to go get his little brother because it was getting late after talking to him for an hour about safe sex and how she didn't want him sneaking out anymore. Initially, Kyle said Ike would come home eventually, since Kyle didn't want to have to run after him after he ratted him out. The kid was well aware of his curfew, but his mom wasn’t having it. So Kyle dragged Stan off the couch and out the door. Kyle ranted, “He’s at Tricia’s. I can’t believe him. Why the hell isn’t he answering any of my texts? I hate it when he does that, and now I have to go to _Craig’s_ house, of all people, because of Ike’s lousy ability to answer text messages. And Mom won’t _wait_ for him to come home on his own! Ike isn’t a baby anymore! I was out on the streets without my parents since kindergarten! What suddenly changed? Why do they care about his safety all of the sudden?”

“Maybe they realized how you turned out and don’t want that happening to Ike,” Stan said. "Maybe they don't want him leaving at midnight to go to his girlfriend's house to dick her down."

Kyle punched his arm.

“I was joking!” Stan cried. “You didn’t have to punch me.”

Craig lived close enough to Kyle’s house that he didn’t have to walk far. Kyle knocked on the Tucker’s front door, Stan following closely behind.

From inside the house, Craig and Tweek heard a knock on the door. Craig got up to open it. Tweek was never fond of opening doors. He was always afraid there’d be a murderer waiting from him on the other side. Kyle and Stan stood in the doorway, which surprised Tweek, but Craig didn’t bat an eye.

“What?” he demanded.

Kyle sighed and rolled his eyes. “Can you tell Ike it’s time to go home? My mom’s been nagging me about it, and he’s not answering any of my messages,” he said.

“Hey, Tweek,” Stan greeted from behind Kyle.

Tweek gave him a two finger salute.

Craig glanced back at his boyfriend. He turned back around to the two at the door. He said, “Ike’s not here. Ruby isn’t either. I thought they were at _your_ house.”

Kyle froze. Slowly, he asked, “What?”

Craig shrugged. “He’s not here. They never came over. Ruby left this morning. I haven’t seen her since.” He began to close the door, but Tweek sprung to his feet. He put himself in the doorway.

“Craig!” he exclaimed. His heart was in his throat. “Ruby and Ike haven’t been seen since this morning! Does that not worry you?! Ike hasn’t been answering texts! They could’ve been kidnapped!”

Flashes of Ruby locked in a white van, eyes wide in terror, scared him in many different ways. He knew how disgusting molesters were, and those creeps probably found her desirable. She was like a sister to him, and he didn’t want that stuff happening to her. Shudders coursed through his bones. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Craig ran a hand through Tweek’s hair. “Don’t be so worried, honey. They’re probably just walking around town. I doubt they got kidnapped,” he said.

Tweek glared at him. “ _I_ almost got kidnapped! It’s _very_ possible!” he shouted. He whipped around to Stan and Kyle. “We need to find them! Do you have any idea where they might be?”

Both shook their heads.

Tweek threw his hands up in exasperation. “Ugh, you guys are hopeless! Kyle, Stan, one of you call Kenny and get him to ask if Karen has seen them, or heard from them today. Craig, tell your parents we’ll be out but _don’t_ tell them your sister is missing.” He marched out the door. When he didn’t hear footsteps behind him, he turned. “Well?” The three boys just stared at him. “Do you want to be grounded for missing siblings, Kyle and _Craig_?” he demanded.

That got them moving. Craig took his place at Tweek’s side. His hand slipped into his. Kyle and Stan trailed closely after them. Tweek’s mind raced. He couldn’t get the foul images of Ruby and Ike kidnapped out of his head.

Behind them, Tweek heard Stan on the phone with Kenny. He was saying, “Yeah. We haven’t seen Tricia or Ike since lunch. Craig and Tweek haven’t seen Tricia since this morning.” Pause. “Sick, dude! They’re fourteen!” Pause again. “Can you just ask Karen if she’s seen them? Okay, thanks, dude.” There was a pause that lasted a minute. “Okay, bye.” Stan hung up. “Kenny says that Karen said they were over at Firkle’s, then left at around four-ish. They didn’t say where they were going. She said she’d try to text them,” he informed them.

Tweek expelled a shaky breath from his lungs. Craig rubbed his thumb over the back of his hand. “It’s okay, babe. Ruby took notes when you taught her self defense. And she has Ike to help her.” He kissed the top of his head.

Tweek sighed. “I know. I’m just worried about them! Those kids are always on their phones! Why aren’t they picking up?” he wondered aloud. “I mean, of course their phones could’ve died. It’s common, with me especially, since I forget to charge my phone. But not once have I seen Ruby _not_ charge her phone. Even when her phone’s only at fifty percent, it’s charging. I just don’t see her letting her phone die!”

Stan said, “I dunno, but Kenny says Karen said they’re not answering. She said to try to go to the places where they all hang out the most, which is the park, Tweek Bros, or Tweek or Craig’s house.”

Tweek offered, “We can stop by the shop right now. I need to give something to my mom anyway. And I want coffee.” He always wanted coffee. When was that new?

“Yes, let’s do that,” Kyle said. “Ike’s starting to piss me off.” He stared down at his phone and his texts that stayed ignored. “I mean, seriously. What could he possibly be doing right now that’s so important that he can’t even answer his texts?”

“His phone could’ve died like Tweek said,” Stan pointed out.

Kyle glared at him. “Stan, not right now.”

Stan shrugged. “I’m just saying!”

Craig spoke up, “So how exactly did you lose Ruby and Ike? They’re teenagers. They’re loud and angsty. They don’t leave their rooms.”

Kyle scoffed. “They rebel too. My dad was telling Ike something, granted it was embarrassing, so he left the house with Tricia. And then he exposed me. We thought they came over to your house since they hang out there a lot, but now we know they were never there,” he explained.

“And _now_ we have no idea where they are,” Craig added. “Nice job, Kyle.”

“Don’t get sarcastic with me. Your sister’s not responding to you either,” Kyle snapped.

“Actually, I haven’t tried contacting Ruby yet,” Craig said.

Tweek blurted, “Craig! Well try that then!” Honestly, the ignorance of his boyfriend was infuriating sometimes. The boy was just too set on keeping up the “I don’t give a shit” facade.

Craig tried to call and text his sister. After five minutes of no response, he said, “Nothing. She usually replies once she receives texts. If she doesn’t respond, her phone’s either silenced or she’s blatantly ignoring it. And she _always_ answers phone calls.”

Everyone groaned collectively. Now they had to go all the way to the coffee shop to look for Kyle and Craig’s siblings. And if they weren’t there, then the whole town possibly.

When they made it to the coffee shop, Tweek went behind the counter. He greeted his mom, handing her the bottle of medication she left at home. “Have you seen Ruby or Ike come by at all today?” he asked.

Mrs. Tweak shook her head. She threw back the pills, aided by a bottle of water. “Not today. Yesterday, yes. Sorry I can’t help you in that field, sweetie,” she said. “Why? What’s wrong?”

Tweek fiddled with his shirt. He gnawed on his bottom lip. “Stan and Kyle said they haven’t seen them since lunch. Apparently they left Kyle’s house because his dad was talking to Ike about some embarrassing topic. They thought they would be at Craig’s, but they weren’t. And now they could be kidnapped! Or what if they ran away?” His words were rushed as he retold the story for his mom.

Mrs. Tweak paled. “Oh. That’s not good. Do you want me to call the police?” she asked.

Tweek vigorously shook his head. “No. Let’s not get authorities involved until we know for sure they’re missing,” he said. “They’ll make it too dramatic.”

“Okay.” Mrs. Tweak kissed his head. “Good luck, pumpkin.”

She made him a coffee just the way he liked it. Then they all left. Stan said, “So much for the coffee shop. Now we have to check the park.”

Tweek took a sip, letting the coffee warm his insides. “Which one? They could be at the basketball courts or the school playground. Ruby’s hung out there before,” Tweek observed.

“Let’s just go to both. In case,” Kyle said.

Thankfully, the basketball courts were a short walking distance from Tweek Bros. Behind Craig and Tweek, Kyle and Stan were holding a conversation. Neither bothered to join.

On one of the benches at the park, Kevin Stoley and Craig’s cousin, Red, were sat, trading kisses. Tweek always thought they were cute together. Tweek knew Red and Ruby were close, and Ruby told her cousin practically everything. Craig knew this too.

“Hey, Red. Have you seen Ruby here?” Craig asked.

His cousin looked up at them. “No, why?”

Kyle interjected, “Long story. Have you heard from her at all? Seen my brother anywhere? We need to find them before our parents ground us.”

Kevin glanced at each of them. “You lost them, didn’t you?”

“Technically we didn’t lose them. Our parents were in the vicinity, but sure. They weren’t our responsibility in the first place,” Kyle said.

“The last I heard from Ruby was this morning. She was texting me about Ike. That was really it. She didn’t mention running away. She’s perfectly happy where she is,” Red said. “I don’t see why she would have any motive to do it.”

“You’re making it sound like she killed herself!” Tweek shrieked. His face paled. “What if she did?”

Craig nuzzled his nose into the top of his head. “She didn’t, honey. She showed no signs of being suicidal or anything. She’s afraid of knives dropping on her toes when she’s putting away the dishes. She wouldn’t dare point one to any parts of her body. Trust me,” he assured.

Tweek started, “But what if—” He was cut off by Craig’s lips on his. Almost immediately, he was calmed down.

Craig pulled back, flashing an easygoing smile at Tweek. “We should probably check around to see whether they’re here or not. They could be hiding in that pirate ship,” he said.

The four walked over to the structure. Tweek and Kyle checked. They didn’t bother looking on the deck, since it was infested with kindergarteners and first graders. A thirteen- and fourteen-year-old would’ve stuck out like giants among elves.

In front of Tweek, Kyle growled. “I seriously fucking doubt they’re in here. It’s way too cramped,” he said.

Tweek grunted. “True. Let’s go. I’m not exactly fond of tight spaces.”

With some difficulty, they turned around and eagerly left the hull of the plastic pirate ship. They informed Craig and Stan that, in fact, Ike and Ruby were not hiding in the structure.

Kyle muttered, “I was hoping they’d be here. This was Ike’s favorite place to hang out when he was in elementary.”

“I still think it’s weird how him and Firkle are in the same grade as Tricia and Karen, despite them being a year younger,” Stan said. “I mean, I get Ike, with him being a genius and all. But Firkle? Doesn’t he skip half of his classes?”

“Yeah… I don’t get it either. But that’s just the way it is,” Kyle said.

With no result, or even the tiniest bit of clue to where they were, the four left the park. They headed in the direction of their elementary school. Tweek doubted they’d be there too. Everyone was happy to leave elementary, some even vowing to never return. He didn’t know if Ruby or Ike were one of those people. If they were, then they wouldn’t be at the school.

They didn’t spend long at the elementary playground. For one, the door to the school were locked, so they had to go around the back. All of them were tall enough to see over the brick wall into the playground. Predictably, it was empty. There weren’t even signs of human life since school got let out. The snow was melted, but the grass was long, uncut. The swings swung forward with the light breeze. The light clink of the chains was the only sound from the school at all.

Tweek shuddered. “This place is creepy when no one’s around,” he said.

Craig kissed his hand. Tweek offered him a small smile. His boyfriend smirked back, enveloping him with his arms.

“They’re not here. This and the basketball courts are the only parks in the whole town! Maybe they did run away. Maybe they did get kidnapped. Maybe aliens came down from space and abducted them! I’m grounded either way,” Kyle sighed. He pressed two fingers to his temples like he had a headache coming on.

“Dude, you sound like Tweek,” Stan said.

Craig was about to kick him for that remark, but Tweek stopped him. “No, Stan’s right. You sound like me. They’re around here somewhere. They couldn’t have gotten far,” he said.

His boyfriend spoke up, “There’s that old beaten up playground at the edge of town. The one where graffiti artists go. They could be there. If I were them and didn’t want people to find me, that’s where I would hide.”

“The park where we wrote our names on the slide?” Tweek asked. That park had a dark history of murder, whether it was true or not. Regardless, the park was a work of art with all the colors, and that masked the rumors of the killing that happened there. Butters was one of the graffiti artists that contributed to the park’s beauty. The main one.

Craig nodded.

Kyle sighed. “I guess we’re going to the edge of town then,” he said through gritted teeth.

They were all annoyed with the fact that they had to walk across town to look for a pair of teenagers. Tweek was looking forward to his Disney movie marathon with Craig and Ruby. Ruby was the person Tweek could share his love of Disney movies with, since Craig was more into science fiction. Tweek supposed it was all right that his plans were delayed because Ruby was missing. And the word _missing_ made his stomach lurch in an unsettling way.

 

Tweek ran up to the yellow plastic slide. It was covered in words from different people. He read over the scribbled out “Cartman is a fat bastard” written by Kyle in sixth grade. He recalled the time later that year when he and Craig ditched school one day. They came over to the abandoned park and wrote their names on the slide in Sharpie. Tweek smiled down at the faded “Craig + Tweek” written in their sloppy handwriting. After all these years, nothing between him and Craig got worse. Everything had only gotten better.

Tweek’s eyes traveled up the slide to the blue graffitied archway at the top of the slide. What he saw made his jaw drop. Sitting under that archway was Ruby and Ike lip locking like there was no tomorrow. Ruby’s arms were folded around Ike’s neck, pressing her body to his. She was practically sitting in his lap! Ike’s head was tilted ever so slightly, his hands on her waist, their legs tangled together. Tweek could hear their heavy breaths being traded in the hot, confined space. He saw what he believed was Ike’s tongue flit past Ruby’s lips, but her hair was down, blowing in the gentle breeze, so it obscured his view. Fortunately. He was so shocked he couldn’t even screech at what he was seeing. He almost couldn’t believe his eyes. The only thing he was capable of doing was beckoning his friends over with a finger to his lips. They shot him confused looks, but obeyed. When they stood beside him, all three of them had something to say about the sight.

From Craig: “What the _fuck_?”

Stan: “Dude!”

And the loudest of all came from Kyle: “ _Ike?!_ ”

Tweek was still too dumbfounded to add any input of his own.

Tricia and Ike’s lips were torn away from each other when they heard the familiar voices of their siblings. Tricia immediately saw the gaping looks of Kyle, Stan, Tweek, and Craig. She recovered quickly from the stun of surprise that formed in the pit of her stomach from seeing them there, and said, “What?” She tried to play off as innocent, but she knew they saw what they saw, and no one had created a brainwashing device for her to ruthlessly use yet. She slid down the slide, stood, then brushed nonexistent sand off her denim shorts. _Casual,_ she thought, _Act casual._ She was really just was internally screaming her head off. She knew she was busted. Her ears were burning embers, sparking into a fire.

Ike slid down after her, eyes cast to the ground to avoid the wide eyed expression of his brother. She could see his red cheeks. She was sure everyone could. He took his place at her side. With their secret uncovered, he openly took her hand in his. Her racing heart calmed somewhat at the contact. Unlike Ike, Tricia stared squarely into Craig’s eyes. He smirked widely. She knew his taunting side was about to make an appearance.

He raised an eyebrow. “Looks like Ruby’s into the Broflovski type, huh?” he teased.

Tricia rolled her eyes. Blew a bubble with the gum that she was shocked to still be in her mouth even after everything she just experienced. She turned her gaze up to the sky. Clouds were streaked orange and pink. Dying sunlight was her favorite type of sunlight. The variety of colors were beautiful. _I’m avoiding his question. Well, it was rhetorical,_ she thought. Her line of sight landed on Craig again. “Shut up, Craigory. I actually like this one,” she snapped.

That only made Craig’s grin grow wider.

Kyle was still flabbergasted. He stammered before actually forming decipherable words. “Ike? You and”—he pointed a limp finger at Tricia, who waved mockingly and plastered an annoyed smile on her mouth—“are together? How?!” he finished.

Stan started laughing. He held his middle, doubling over. His entire frame shook with mirth. Craig was still grinning like an asshat. Tweek was on the brink of laughter, and looked just about ready to join Stan, who was now rolling around in the sand, howling. Kyle’s mouth was still gawking, eyes the size of saucers. It was quite comical.

Ike shifted under his big brother’s stare while Tricia balled her free hand into a fist at her side. She huffed and stomped off with Ike in tow, head held high. She would _not_ stand there and be mocked as she drowned in her embarrassment. Her face was heated with a blush. She didn’t mind their laughter. She knew it wasn’t directed at them, but at Kyle’s reaction to the revelation of their relationship. What annoyed her was how _embarrassed_ she was. She wasn’t prepared to let anyone, except her friends, know about their relationship. She heard her brother’s and the others’ fading chuckles travel up to them. She dropped Ike’s hand.

“Ruby?” he asked.

She shook her head, indicating she didn’t want to talk about it, crossing her arms. She wouldn’t admit how embarrassed she was. She was supposed to appear unfeeling, the way her brother acted but in reality wasn’t. Ike read her like a book and let go of the attempt to press further. “I’m fine. Just a bit… pissed. That’s all,” she lied.

Ike touched her shoulder. She glanced at him. His black brows were creased in worry. He looked entirely enchanting, even if he did look anxious about her complicated emotions. “I can talk to them if you want,” he offered.

She flashed him a grateful smile. “Thanks, Ike. You’re too good for me. Make sure to give them a hard slap on the wrist,” she said.

He saluted and dropped back to join his brother’s conversation.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey Lolita, hey!**  
**Hey Lolita, hey!**  
**I know what the boys want, I'm not gonna play**  
**Hey Lolita, hey!**  
**Hey Lolita, hey!**  
**Whistle all you want, but I'm not gonna stay**  
**No more skipping rope**  
**Skipping heartbeats with the boys downtown**  
**Just you and me feeling the heat**  
**Even when the sun goes down**

* * *

Tricia’s blush would not go away. She was home, sitting at the dinner table, staring at her food that was going cold. She was hungry, and they were having burgers her dad made. She usually gobbled them up within five minutes, coming back for seconds. Not today though. Her parents talked about the drama at her mom’s work. Mrs. Tucker had come home exasperated and began ranting as soon as her dad walked through the door. Craig was texting Tweek. He had his phone under the table because devices weren’t allowed at dinner. He’d agreed to not tell their parents about her relationship with one of her best friends. Tricia tuned them out, mind wandering. She went back to that moment at the park, vivid and imprinted in her mind.

After they’d left Firkle’s house, she dragged Ike down the street. “C’mon,” she urged. “Let’s go to Summerton Park where all the graffiti artists vandalize the structures.”

Ike stumbled along behind her, almost stepping on her heels. “Summerton Park?” he echoed. “You know it’s called that for a reason, right? A family of four from out of town went there, and got murdered by an unknown person. The parents’ bodies were so mutilated that police and detectives couldn’t identify who they were. Their only clue to who they were was the name ‘Summerton’ engraved on the inside of the wife’s ring. That name led them nowhere though! It wasn’t even the name of the ring company! The kids—whose genders were never discovered—were missing with no trace to where they could’ve gone. There were no fingerprints on the adults’ bodies, or footprints or evidence of the kids. It’s the biggest unsolved crime in all of South Park!” he exclaimed.

Tricia snorted. “I doubt that. There are more unexplained occurrences that happen here than any other place in the world. A murder is just a part of everyday life in this town. And I know about the murder. Obviously. I’m not stupid. The Summerton Murder is probably one of the greatest stories because the killer was never found. The other murderers here are discovered within a day. They need to take notes on the Summerton Murder. But that murder happened back in the 1970’s, and it was rumored to be yellow journalism to sell papers. I mean, an unsolved murder in a small, secluded town in the Rocky’s? That the murderer could be your next door neighbor?” She feigned a gasp, touching her fingers to her lips. “My, oh my! What a tragedy! I’ll surely purchase a paper, good sir. I mustn’t be this killer’s next victim!” she said.

Ike laughed. “Way to kill the spooky mood, Ruby.” He nudged her shoulder with his. They traded smiles. In front of them, Summerton Park stood in clear view. It was located on the edge of town, where there were no houses and buildings close enough to hear them scream bloody murder if it were to happen. The park looked like any other park, only covered in colorful spray paint. It wasn’t the typical graffiti, with tags and curse words. It was beautiful, covered in flowers and fading shades of green and purple. The outer walls of the bathroom were realistically painted to look like a beach at sunset. The swings were painted in checkered patterns, ombre green chains clinking with the warm breeze. Above their heads, the sky was a swirl of oranges, pinks, and deep blues. It struck a resemblance to the vibrant park.

“If someone did get murdered here, it’s a real pretty place to go,” Ike mused.

“I don’t think the park was done up all nice back then,” she said. She snapped the bubble of gum she’d blown between her teeth. “Race you to the slide.” She took off running.

“Hey!” Ike whined. She heard his pounding footsteps shadow hers.

Her laughter was swept away by a gentle wind that caressed her cheeks. She clambered up the slide, the signatures marked on the yellow plastic blurring together. Ike grabbed her shoe. She shrieked, wriggling free. She crawled onto the platform above the slide, pressing her back against the wall. Ike joined her, their feet touching in the small space. Inside was painted to resemble a galaxy. They caught their breaths.

“Well you won that. So… why are we here?” Ike asked.

Tricia shrugged. She felt a blush rise to her cheeks. “Craig said that if you wanted to kiss someone in private to go somewhere where no one would look. He would—and still often does—pull the stunt with Tweek. He disappears for a while, then comes back and never speaks about where he went. I only know he snuck off to make out with Tweek because he told me that little piece of advice,” she explained sheepishly. She flicked a pile of sand beside her off the platform.

“Oh.”

There was silence for a moment. Wind whistled through trees, and birds sang along. It was all so peaceful and perfect. She sighed happily, savoring the feel of the gust on her face. Unexpectedly, Ike lurched forward, his lips crashing onto hers. Her eyes fell closed. He tugged her closer, flush against his chest. His mouth commenced to grinding against her lips. Tricia’s heart skipped a beat at the sensation. So surreal, so bizarre, so delightful.

A kick landed on her shin. She winced, immediately reaching down to cradle her leg. She glared across the table at her brother. His eyes flicked to the left. She looked where he was indicating her to. Her father stared at her expectantly. He raised an eyebrow.

“Sorry, can you repeat that?” she said.

Craig butted in, “You might have to a couple of times. It takes her a minute or two to recover from her daydreams.”

She flipped him off.

Her father restated what she’d missed, “How was your day, Ruby?”

 _That was his question? It’s not even important,_ she thought bitterly. “Fine,” she answered. When Mr. Tucker gave her a look to elaborate, she continued, “Ike and I went over to Firkle’s house to hang out with him and Karen.”

Her mom said, “You’ve been over at that Ike boy’s house a lot lately.”

“We’re friends. Of course I’m gonna be at his house. Can I reheat my food?” Not bothering for a reply, she got up and waited a minute and thirty seconds for her food to unfreeze. She reluctantly returned to the table. The air was tense as she sat down.

“I understand that, but you seem to be at his house even more than Karen’s,” Mrs. Tucker said.

Tricia stuffed her mouth with burger. The savory taste exploded on her tongue. Her stomach yelled at her for putting off eating. Around her mouthful, she clipped, “Karen’s family life isn’t the best, and her house isn’t in the greatest shape to hang out in. And Firkle doesn’t like to be around his parents because they annoy the hell out of him. Craig was occupying this house, so Ike’s it was.”

Mrs. Tucker shot her a warning look. “Watch your tongue, young lady. I’m just asking you a question. No need to get angry.”

Craig changed the subject and said to Tricia, “My friends are going to some river tomorrow Stan and them found in sophomore year. Kyle and Kenny are bringing their siblings. I’d prefer you not to go, but you can if you want. Tweek insists I bring you.”

Tricia blinked at him. “Um, okay. Is Firkle going?” she asked.

Craig glanced down at his phone. “Yeah. Kenny says Karen’s bringing him along.”

She let loose a giggle at that. It was typical of Karen to drag Firkle around wherever she went, even if he hated it. “Of course I’ll go. If it annoys you to any extent, then it’s a definite yes. Do we bring swimsuits or what?” she wondered.

Craig took a bite of his burger. “Yeah. It’s supposed to be hot, and it’d be useless to just wear normal clothes if you’re going somewhere that involves _water_. Use common sense, _Tricia,_ ” he said, tone mocking.

Tricia threw one of her untouched pickles on her plate at her big brother. It landed on his nose, and she laughed. She hated it when he used her real name. It sounded weird with his voice. She was so used to him addressing her as “Ruby" that any other name he called her was foreign to her. According to her mom, when she was born, Craig refused to call her Tricia and strictly called her Ruby. The name stuck, and now only her closest friends and family have the privilege of calling her that.

 

Tricia sat in the backseat of Token’s car. Craig’s group of friends all piled into the thing. It was cramped. She sat in the middle, Clyde sat in the passenger’s seat, Craig sat to her left with Tweek on his lap, and Jimmy on her right. Her sundress stuck to her back, and the strings of her bikini top were digging into her spine. Her and five smelly almost eighteen-year-old boys, along with coolers and chairs squished in, were stuck in a car that was _supposed_ to seat only five people, in the middle of July, with the windows wide open. The spot they were all meeting at was only fifteen minutes away, but it felt like they’d been driving for hours.

The sticky morning heat hung over her. The wind blew her hair into her face. Her skin was boiling. Why was it so _hot?_ She didn’t understand how Craig wasn’t dying with Tweek sitting on him. She groaned. Even her phone was too hot to touch. She feared it would explode.

Token dropped out of his conversation with his friends to assure her. “Don’t worry, Ruby. We’ll be there soon.” He glanced at her in the rearview mirror.

“I know but _still_ ,” she hissed.

“You’re the one who agreed. You didn’t _have_ to come. But you did anyway. You brought this upon yourself,” Craig said. Tweek twisted and slapped his arm in reprimand.

Seven miserable minutes later, Tricia crawled over Jimmy’s lap and hopped out of the car. She fell to her knees and sprawled her numb limbs over the grass, rejoicing. “Oh thank God!” she exclaimed. “No more sitting in stuffy cars!”

Karen, Ike, and Firkle stood above her. They all gave her questioning looks. Karen said, “You okay, Ruby?”

Smiling, she sighed. “Perfect.”

Karen offered her a hand. She took it and got to her feet. Karen’s hair was up in pigtails, purple tips fading. Reaching out to curl the soft locks around her finger, Tricia said, “Remind me to redye your hair when we get home.”

Nine almost eighteen-year-old boys unpacked their cars, hauling out coolers and chairs and volleyballs. They all shuffled to the bubbling river with grunts and curses. From where she stood, Tricia couldn’t see it since it was concealed by reeds, but she could hear it. Tricia’s friends and herself hung back, making no move to help. Eric Cartman had the same idea. He sidled up to them, staring at them promptly. When they just stared back, he rolled his violet and brown eyes. “Well? Are you just gonna _wait_ for them to force you to help them or are you gonna follow me and get out of responsibility?” he asked.

That sounded good to them, so they followed him to the river. Grass was in patches, exposing dirt underfoot. The five of them made it to the river with no difficulty. Kyle only shot them sharp looks, but said nothing about their lack of help. Eric kicked off his slides and bounded into the shallow water. The kids followed in suit with a little less recklessness. They all took off their dry clothes, revealing their swimsuits underneath. The water lapped at their knees. It was cold, but refreshing in the scalding heat.

“It goes deeper over here,” Eric said. His legs sloshed up water as he moved upstream. They easily walked over the smooth and round rocks. Ike picked one up and tossed it. It skidded over the surface of the water, jumping twice. Tricia watched him skip rocks. The side of his face seemingly glowed gold, making his cheekbones and the tip of his nose sparkle. She didn’t even realize she was doing it until he met her eyes. She turned away, blushing.

Eric pushed back a leafy tree branch, revealing wide cove at the end the river. Trees towered above, providing cool shade. A few birds on the branches chirped happily. One damp boulder was half submerged in the warm water that rose to their thighs. Eric lowered himself onto the rock and sipped from his soda can. He swept his arm, gesturing to the nature around them. “ _This_ is the perfect spot; quiet and away from Kyle,” he said.

“How did you find this place?” Ike asked.

Eric said, “Last time we were here, this is the original space we found. It’s deeper here than the riverbed. Shadier.”

Karen reached down and flicked water at Firkle, who glared at her before splashing her back. She laughed, retaliating by shoving him underwater. He disappeared for a second before leaping up and bringing her down with him. Tricia snorted.

“Wouldn’t Kyle know about this place then?” Ike wondered. He watched his friends tackle each other. Firkle and Karen were causing droplets to fly up and hit the three of them who weren’t horsing around.

Eric waved his statement away. “He’s too busy setting up. Plus, the cooler part of this river is the waterfall if you go back that way.” He pointed the way they came.

“Then why didn’t we go there?” Tricia edged away from Karen and Firkle, who were migrating closer to her. She didn’t want to get soaked yet. Karen giggled, spitting water in Firkle’s face. The goth couldn’t even keep a grin from his face. He looked strange without his eyeliner, almost unfamiliar. Tricia bumped up against Ike, not really watching where she was going. She was too busy looking out to make sure her friends didn’t crack their heads open on a rock.

When she did register the point of contact she made with the boy, her face heated up, despite the sweltering sun already on her face. She was glad she put on sunscreen before they started driving. She was sure that if she didn’t she’d get a harsh sunburn. Because of the scorching heat or her scorching cheeks, she didn’t know. Ike looked at her, and she looked right back. His eyes bored into hers with fervid intensity. Her heart got tangled in its jump rope, tripping and stumbling over itself. She was probably going to die. She was very aware of what little she was wearing for some reason. She was only wearing a ruffle bikini top, matched with a high-waisted bottom. Ike wore his boardshorts, shirtless too. This passed through her mind before the world collapsed, leaving only her and Ike. Suddenly she wasn’t sure if she was overheating because of the sun or fluster.

There was a loud _Ahem._ Tricia snapped back to reality. She realized how close she was to Ike. Only a few inches apart. She stepped back, red in the face. He was too. “As I was _saying,_ ” Eric drawled. His eyes flew between Tricia and Ike. “Kyle and them are probably getting the stuff ready over there right now, and I don’t want to be dragged in to helping in any way.” He continued to scrutinize Tricia and Ike. She flipped him off.

Eric harrumphed, sipping his soda. “Is there something going on here? ‘Cause it sure seems like it.” He set the can down beside him. When Ike nor Tricia responded, a couple seconds ticked by before his eyes widened. He guffawed, looking like those squeaky toys where the eyes pop out when squeezed. “Oh—oh that’s priceless! Tricia, Ike, please, _please_ I’m begging you. Get married so Kyle’d be forced to be Craig’s brother-in-law!” He laughed himself off the rock and into the water.

Karen looked up from the headlock she was putting Firkle in. “Wait, what’s going on?” she asked. Tricia and Ike blushed. That was answer enough. “ _Oh._ Eric found out, huh?” Her eyes landed on the shaking body slowly rising from the water, still cackling.

Firkle pushed Karen off him. “That’s what you conformists get for being so obvious,” he said.

“Shut up, Firkle,” Ike scowled.

Tricia snapped, “Says the one who was roughhousing with Karen as an excuse to touch her.” She brought up her middle finger for good measure.

Karen and Firkle joined the blushing club. Eric lifted himself up, using the boulder to support his weight. He was still laughing his ass off. He clutched his middle. Tricia thought his gut might fall off if he didn’t. Water dripped from his hair, onto his doughy cheeks. He looked like he was crying, and he could’ve been, considering how hard he was chortling. So hard that it wasn’t even laughing—it was wheezing. Tricia rolled her eyes, turning away. She glanced at Ike, who was still blushing furiously. His pale skin made the pinkness extremely obvious. She couldn’t deny that he looked cute. She _wouldn’t_ deny it either.

“Yeah, yeah. We get it, Eric. You can stop laughing now, or you might just die. I’m sure my brother would love that,” Ike said, muttering the last part under his breath.

“It would definitely do good for us all,” Karen added with a giggle.

Tricia put in, “We would all tap dance on your grave.”

“Except no one would attend your funeral. We’d all be celebrating your death instead,” Firkle whispered.

Three of the kids stifled their giggles behind their hands, while Firkle forced down a smile. Eric got himself to stop laughing long enough to send a glower their way. “Ay!” he exclaimed. “I can hear you, assholes!”

Karen chirped, “Hear what? We didn’t say anything!” She grinned innocently, even going as far as putting her hands under her chin and batting her eyelashes. Eric rolled his eyes. Not even someone as dense as him could be fooled by the poor act.

Tricia laughed. To Eric, she said, “We’re kidding. We love you.”

In the distance, Kyle shouted, “Cartman! Bring those kids back here! They all better be in one piece too!”

Eric frowned. “Well? You heard the Jew. Get your asses moving. I don’t need his temper today. I’m on vacation.” He picked up his soda and started trudging ahead, kicking up murky water. Tricia made a mental note to come back to the spot. It was nice and shady, quiet too. The four kids followed him out of the cove and down the river. As they walked, Tricia could hear the crashing of water, which she assumed to be the waterfall. The clearing where they entered was now empty, except for her brother’s friends parked cars, which were also empty.

The continued on until the sunlight was completely blocked out by the shadows of trees. Birds’ chirps were more various. One brown bird flew from one tree to another in front of them. The sound of the waterfall got louder; the water got colder, but it felt good in the heat. The water in the cove was too warm, almost like a hot tub. When the dark water reached her midriff, Tricia sighed happily, submerging herself underwater. Her burning skin instantly cooled. She swam ahead.

When she surfaced, she saw the entirety of the waterfall. It gushed chilling water, spraying her face in droplets, even from where she kicked to stay afloat. The water was also _much_ deeper, but she could probably touch the bottom if she tried. Craig was standing up, the water up to his chest. Tweek clung to his back. The stones surrounding the waterfall were slick and dark. Clyde climbed those rocks; it wasn’t all that tall, maybe twenty feet. He got to the top, looking down. His friends encouraged him to jump.

From beside her, Eric cupped a hand around his mouth and screamed, “Do a flip!” It was the type of thing all siblings said to each other. Even step siblings.

Tweek screeched, “Oh God, be careful, Clyde!”

Clyde braced himself, backed up, broke into full speed, and cannonballed into the water.

Everyone cheered when his head popped up. He laughed, thrusting a fist into the air. Ike nudged her. “You wanna try that?” he asked.

Tricia looked at him like he was crazy. “We could die jumping off that thing. Of course!” she said.

Her and Ike swam up to the plot of land where all of their stuff was set up. Currently, nobody sat in the chairs. The coolers were pushed against trees. Tricia knew Eric would ransack them soon enough. Karen was making her way to Kenny and Butters. Their mouths moved, but Tricia couldn’t hear them over the waterfall. Firkle was next to the girl, fussing with his hair.

“Are you gonna jump, Ike?” Kyle walked up to them, shaking water from his fluffy red hair. “If you are, be careful. You should be fine. Just try not to kill yourself by busting your head open on the rocks.”

Ike nodded, pulling Tricia up to the rocks and started climbing. At the top, she looked down at the drop. It seemed like a far way down. If she didn’t jump right, she’d be landing on concrete or a boulder. Water rushed through the spaces between her toes. From up there, it was a white flurry. Ike took her hand in his own. He met her gaze. His mouth spread into a smile. “We’ll do it together. Ready?” he asked.

She nodded, somewhat hesitantly. Her fingers tightened around his as he took steps back.

Below them, slowly disappearing as the backed up, Kyle said, “Go, Ike!” Near him, Craig positioned his waterproof camera in front of his eye. Tweek gave them a thumbs up.

“On the count of three, okay? One—” He bent forward, getting in a running position. “Two—” He threw her another look and reassuring smile. “Three!” They sprinted forward. At the edge, Tricia pushed her feet off the rocks, leaping high. Her scream joined Ike’s as they fell.

Water rushed past her ears and up her top. Ike’s hand was still in hers as they swam up. They gasped for air, laughing. Ike’s eyes were all she saw. They gleamed brightly. Drops of water fell from his eyelashes, onto his freckled cheeks. His hand reached up and brushed away a piece of wet hair that was plastered to her forehead. A breathless giggle escaped her lips.

There was a squeal that startled her from her trance. Karen paddled up to them, babbling, “That was so cool! Should I try next? Will you jump with me, Ruby? Maybe I can get Firkle to do it too! We should all do it and get a picture mid jump!”

Tricia said, “If it makes Firkle miserable, then, like, sure!”

Karen shot her a look that she translated as a silent _Really?_ Tricia giggled, letting go of Ike’s hand to throw an arm around her best friend. “Let’s drag him over here. Maybe he’ll let me push him off,” she joked.

Karen pushed water in her face. “Ruby!”

They swam over to where Firkle was lounging in one of the beach chairs. He watched them approach him with a bored expression. “I was hoping you’d hit your head on a boulder so I’d never have to see you or suffer through your company again, Ike,” he stated. “Who knows? I might even have to do the job myself. My wish has been suspended for now.”

Tricia snorted, tightening her ponytail. “I would’ve thought you’d view wishing as too _conformist_ ,” she mocked.

Firkle glared at her. “Ha ha. That was _hilarious_ ,” he said flatly.

“No need to be so excited, Firkle. I was just joking,” she countered.

“No, no. I really must. You’re just _such_ a great comedian. You should perform in the talent show with Jimmy. The whole school’d be howling,” he shot back.

Ike stepped between them. “Okay, enough of the sarcasm wars. You can continue later, but right now, you’re making my head hurt.” He turned to Firkle. “You’re jumping off that waterfall with us. And, no, you cannot refuse,” he added when Firkle opened his mouth to object.

“Well—” Firkle started.

“Suicide is never the answer,” Ike interjected. He pursed his lips at his best friend.

Firkle sighed loudly. “Fine.” He got to his feet. “I hate you all.”

“What about Karen?” Tricia sang.

If looks could kill, she’d be dead. Firkle’s pale ears turned red. Karen looked at him, waiting to see what he’d say. He fidgeted under her gaze. “Ike is the worst of you all. I hate Karen a lot less than you,” he bit out. He stomped away, heading towards the rocks that lead to the top of the waterfall.

Tricia smirked at Karen, who watched him go. Her wet hair fell in strands around her face. She stared in something that mirrored admiration. “What?” she finally said.

“Nothing,” she lied.

Craig walked up to her, holding his camera. “You looked pathetic jumping off that waterfall, but it made for a good shot,” he said. He fiddled with the camera. He held it out to her, presenting the picture. Karen and Ike peered over her shoulder. In it, Tricia and Ike were hand in hand in mid air, just having leapt off the rocks. Her face was scrunched up, smiling, even though she was screaming her head off. Ike had his eyes open, also shrieking happily. Craig clicked a button and the image changed. Now the waterfall cascaded behind them, flowing over their shoulders. Hers and Ike’s hair was waving out wildly. In the picture following, half their bodies were underwater, a huge splash around them. Bordering the photo were green leaves of the trees, focusing entirely on them. She didn’t know waterproof camera could take that good of a picture.

“That’s so cool!” Karen gushed. “You have a real talent, Craig.”

“Yeah, dude. That’s awesome,” Ike said.

“Thanks.” Craig tilted his head. Tweek made him ditch his chullo earlier that morning. His black hair ruffled in the breeze. “I have to take pictures for my portfolio for Photography class. So far, it’s only of Tweek. I _guess_ my teacher would expect more than just him. So I’m just gonna be taking a shitload of pictures is what I’m trying to say. Of you, of the guys, of the tub of lard stuffing his face at lunch, Firkle doing whatever emo thing he does— ”

“I’m goth! I’m not a fucking _emo!"_  Firkle shouted from a distance.

Ike and Tricia and Karen laughed. Craig pulled a face. “Oops,” he said monotonously. He sent them a subtle smile. “Scurry up there so I can get some good shots. My grade’s depending on you. I’ll follow you up soon.”

They did as told, yanking Firkle along with them. He didn’t protest. He just dragged his feet the rest of the way to the stacked rocks. Ike scaled up first, then Karen. Tricia pushed Firkle forward. “Go. I don’t got all day,” she said.

He sneered at her, but obeyed. Tricia gripped a jutting rock, hauling herself up, one foot after another. At the top, Ike hooked his hands around the back of his neck, flashing a prince charming smile almost as radiant as the sun casting a halo behind him. Tricia felt her knees go weak as her face shifted into a lovestruck grin. Karen giggled. “Uh-oh, Ruby,” she trilled.

Tricia straightened, her head whirling around to where Karen was gesturing. Craig held up the camera, smirking widely. She felt her cheeks dust pink. “Craig!” she hissed. “What the fuck are you doing?”

He chuckled. “Taking pictures of you gawking at your boyfriend. Young love is gonna fit perfectly in my portfolio. You look like you’re looking at the greatest thing in the universe, and Ike has a nice smile.”

Tricia chucked a rock at him. It missed by a long shot. Craig laughed at her failed attempt. “I’m heading down now. I’ll give you a signal when I’m ready,” he said. He pocketed his camera and climbed back down.

Ike slinked up next to her. He wore a smug expression. Leaning over, his lips grazing her ear, he whispered, “Staring again, Ruby?”

Her face warmed, and sweat broke out on her forehead and palms. She ground her teeth together, tipping her chin up. Spinning on her heel, she punched him in the gut. He groaned, doubling over, but continued to smile. She ignored the obvious blush on her cheeks, that she was hoping blended in with her sunburn, and asked, “Can we get ready to jump now?” She glared at Firkle and Karen, snickering behind their hands.

Karen nodded. “Yeah. Best to get it over with. Plus, we might have to go more than once, if Craig doesn’t get a good shot,” she pointed out.

Firkle’s expression melted back to its normal poker face. “I’m not holding hands with anybody,” he said.

They backpedalled at the same time. Ike’s eyebrows furrowed. “How do we know when to jump? We didn’t exactly establish that.”

Tricia screamed at the top of her lungs, “We’re ready, Craigory!”

A reply just as loud answered back. “Okay!”

“On three?” Ike asked.

“No, screw it. We do it… now!” Tricia blurted. They all took off running. Just like before, they jumped off the edge and spiraled into the water below.


	7. Chapter 7

**I want my cake and I want to eat it too**  
**I want to have fun and be in love with you**  
**I know that I'm a mess with my long hair**  
**And my suntan, short dress, bare feet**  
**I don't care what they say about me**  
**What they say about me**  
**Because I know that it's l-o-v-e**  
**You make me happy, you make me happy**  
**And I never listen to anyone**  
**Let them all say!**

* * *

Lunch took place at four in the evening. They all lost track of time, not realizing how late it was until Eric started complaining and the sun was sinking. They sat down on their chairs, though they were short four. The youngest kids volunteered to sit on the rocks lining the pool the waterfall bled into. Subway sandwiches were all that was packed. Tricia picked at her turkey sandwich, dropping tomatoes to the ground. She was starving. She hadn’t eaten since breakfast, which was amazing for her. She was always snacking. She was just glad she didn’t look like Eric with all the junk food she ate.

She listened to Tweek’s conspiracy theory he was sharing with his friends. He was more joking about it than being serious. He waved his hands around, blabbering and giggling about aliens and how they were _very_ real. “Do you guys remember that time Cartman got abducted and got an anal probe that called aliens to Earth? Then they got Ike! I spent sleepless nights, afraid one would try to break through my window and take me into their spaceship. I don’t want them sticking shit up my ass! And what’s with their obsession with shoving shiny rods up people’s butts? I don’t trust them,” he said.

“Tweek, you don’t trust a-anyone,” Jimmy reminded him. “Except for Craig, maybe.”

“Yes, that is extremely true. But you can see why! One of us could be being controlled by the government to extract information about us! One of us could be a murderer—no wait, we already know that for a fact.” He and everyone glared at Eric stuffing his face with his sandwich.

“ _Cartman,_ ” they all hissed in unison.

Eric narrowed his eyes at them. “What?” he said through a mouthful. “That was one time. And I _didn’t_ get abducted by aliens. It was a dream, you assholes,” he snapped.

“Cartman, you have killed someone more than once. Don’t try to play it off innocent. You killed Scott Tenorman’s parents, you tried to kill your mom, Heidi, me multiple times. Must I go on?” Kyle growled.

Eric rolled his eyes. “That’s because they got on my nerves and _you’re_ a dirty Jew,” he quipped.

“Here we go again,” Kyle muttered.

Ike tore into his sandwich, pieces of lettuce hanging from the corner of his mouth.

“You eat like a pig,” Firkle remarked. “I’d say almost as bad as Eric, but no one’s as messy as him, not even you.”

Ike flipped him off in a way that made Tricia proud.

“All of you are so critical,” muttered Karen.

“That’s why we’re friends. We pick out our flaws and use it against each other. You’re not truly friends with someone if you don’t tease them _once_ in a while. By that I mean all the time. Real friends laugh at their friends’ mistakes,” Tricia said.

“Don’t you mean _with_ their friends? They laugh _with_ their friends?” Karen asked.

Tricia shook her head. “Nope. I mean _at._ I’ll laugh at you when you fall on your face, take a few pictures to post and exploit your failure, then help you up.”

Karen rolled her eyes, smiling. “You’re seriously just the greatest friend, aren’t you, Ruby?”

Tricia leaned into her. “Yup.”

 

Not only was the setting sun the brightest, but it was also hot. Not hot like high noon hot, but hot enough to drag everyone back into the water. Tweek was perched up on Craig’s shoulders, going against Stan who was on Kyle's shoulders. They were in the middle of a chicken fight, and Kyle and Stan were losing. They were grunting with effort, and Tweek and Craig hooted out battlecries. Kenny was climbing up the waterfall, probably going to jump. Jimmy lounged around in the water with Token and Clyde, conversing. Clyde and Token laughed, probably at a joke Jimmy made. Eric stretched out on one of the beach chairs in front of the water. He had his feet kicked up on an empty cooler with Butters sat across his lap. They both sipped from soda cans, Butters’ eyes drooping and Eric humming along to a Lady Gaga song lightly playing from his portable speaker. Karen sat by the water’s edge, causing small ripples as she kicked. She quietly sang along with Eric. Firkle was laid out on a towel on the ground, hands tucked under his head, dark sunglasses covering his eyes. Apparently suntanning wasn’t conformist. Well, good for him. He needed some color in his cheeks. Ike sat in between Karen and Firkle, cloud watching, a silent look of wonder on his face.

The air was filled with warmth and joy. It tasted like fresh air, smelled like pine. Sounds of giggles and chirping and splashing rang about. And Lady Gaga too, if you listened carefully. Seeing the sky color orange, dip behind the mountains, that completed it all.

Perched on a rock, toes dipped in the water, Tricia took all this in while she momentarily took a break from reading her book. She was almost finished with it. She didn’t want it to end. It was _such_ a good book, and she didn’t know if there was a sequel. She hated parting with things. Maybe that was why she had a breakdown at her graduation. She didn’t want to move onto high school, where everything would matter and determine her future of getting into college. Even though she would have all her friends with her, the thought still scared her half to death. If she was freaking out about moving to high school, she had a feeling she’d be a wreck when college came around.

She knew her skin was sunkissed by now. Her brother’s skin was also darker than he had been that morning. She _had_ to look similar. She took a deep breath, letting the air fill her lungs. A breeze swept her undone hair into her face, but she didn’t move to push it back. Her strawberry blonde hair was especially wavy, damp and drying. It was a tangled mess. She didn’t have this problem when she had it short, but that was back in third grade. She liked her hair long; she thought it suited her. The pages of her book fluttered beneath her hand. The soft cotton of her sundress shifted too. She’d decided she was done swimming for the day to make time for reading. It was peaceful.

There was a shriek. Tricia watched Kyle and Stan go down like dominoes into the water. A spray of droplets peppered the page of her book. She twisted her mouth to the side. She hated it when her books got ruined. It would dry, at least. Not too much damage would be done. Tweek laughed at them as Craig sunk underwater to let him off his shoulders.

A body leaned its weight against Tricia’s back. She turned, spotting the top of Ike’s head on her shoulder. His mouth was pressed to the crook of her neck, arms wrapped around her, pinning her own arms to her sides. His words were muffled when he spoke. “Walk with me?” He sounded just like he did as a kid—eager and shy.

Tricia bookmarked the page she was reading, closing the book. “I don’t see why not. Let me put this away real quick,” she said. Ike let her go. She stuffed her book back into Craig’s backpack, slid her feet into her flip flops, and turned to Ike. “Ready.”

To Kyle, who was surfacing, Ike called, “I’m going on a walk, big brother.”

Kyle pushed back his bright red hair. He saw Tricia standing beside Ike, and his eyebrow slightly raised, but he complied. “Okay. Don’t go too far.”

Ike nodded. He said, “C’mon, Ruby,” and led her away from the waterfall. Ike’s flip flops squeaked every time he took a step.

“You sound like a rubber duck,” she remarked. Ike snorted. “Where are you taking me anyway?”

“Nowhere, really. I just wanted to…” He scratched the back of his neck, face flushed, eyes glued to his feet. She reached out and put her hand on his arm. His hand found hers. “I just wanted to be alone with your for a little,” he mumbled.

Tricia bumped her shoulder against his. “Hey.” He looked up at her. “I think you’re being very maple syrup-y right now,” she said.

Ike laughed. “Thanks, Ruby.”

They passed the cars, walking onto a dirt trail she hadn’t noticed before. She had been too busy savoring the feeling of being out of the car. Long blades of grass brushed against her legs. There was still shade overhead, or what was left anyway. The sun was well below the mountains now, leaving slight darkness around them. They still had enough light to see, but it would be getting dark soon. She saw Craig pack some lanterns, so maybe they’d be here when night fell.

“I never thought this would ever be reality.”

Tricia took in Ike’s appearance. He’d tanned for the hours they’d been there. His shirt was still off, his skin a light golden. His freckles were more prominent. His black hair was matted to his forehead, wet from getting out of the water recently. His eyes shone. “What do you mean?” she asked when she realized she’d kept quiet too long.

He paused. “I’ve like you since fifth grade. At first, I didn’t even _know_ it was a crush. I thought I just thought you were cool. I’ve _always_ thought you were cool. When I realized it was a crush, I tried to get over you because there was _no way_ I’d date one of my best friends. But eventually I accepted it, and realized I was unconditionally smitten with you. That goes for _all_ definitions of the word—struck with a firm blow; defeated; affected severely; and strongly attracted _to_ you and _by_ you,” he rambled. “I never thought I’d actually have a chance with you. I was sure I’d gotten myself stuck in the friendzone. And then you started dating Dougie, and I thought my chance had gotten stolen right out from under me. All those guys would chase after you, but you never returned any of their feelings. I’ve always wondered why, but now I think I know. Either way, I completely shat myself falling for you.” He smiled to himself, and she enjoyed the view, but his eyes grew to the size of saucers as the color drained from his face. “Fuck, I didn’t mean falling for you like that. I meant—”

She hushed him with a heavily emphasized “ _Ike._ ” When he focused on her, she stopped them in their tracks and took both of his hands. “I know what you mean. I get it. I think you’re cute when you’re all flustered. I like you a lot.” She stopped to let a dazzling smile cross her face. “And I mean a _lot._ So much I don’t think you’ll ever understand. Hell, _I_ don’t even understand most of it. I feel all warm and giggly around you, and I always end up blushing. And my stomach does flips, and sometimes I feel like barfing, but a good kind of barf. Sometimes I wanna kill you for making me feel like this, other times I wanna kiss you. Whatever the case, I have a strong grasp of what you’re feeling.” She toed the ground, a blush crawling up her neck. “And I wouldn’t mind it if you _fell_ for me,” she finished.

Ike stared at her. She stared back. The stars peeking out behind the clouds reflected in his eyes. It happened all at once. She registered the fact that she really _didn’t_ mind if Ike fell in love with her, and she desperately hoped he would. But she didn’t need to worry because she knew right then. She knew that he was in love with her. Four years he’d liked her, even when she was with someone else, even when she overlooked him. She’d read somewhere that a crush usually lasted about four months, and anything longer than that was considered “love." She thought it was bullshit, but at that moment, maybe it wasn’t all that stupid. Ike wouldn’t say it out loud, not yet, not even soon, but one day he would. She knew it in her bones.

And her, well she’d never been in love before, but she knew this was it. For one, she’d liked him a little over a year. And she’d been around enough of Craig and Tweek gushing over each other that she had a good idea of what love looked like. Craig always told her that Tweek made him happy; very happy, a way no one else could. Yes, people had made _her_ happy before—she had people in her life that made her happy all the time—but not in the way Ike did. He made her feel a different kind of happy.

The realization left her wonderstruck _._ Ike’s hands moved up to her arms, holding her in front of him gently. He stepped closer, his shoe knocking against hers. He slowly pitched forward, close enough that his breath rolled over her cheeks. His eyes met hers for a second before closing. Light as a feather, he put his lips on hers. Her heart skipped a beat. Their kisses before were passionate and breathtaking, but somehow this one was more magical. She didn’t know why this one was a cut above the rest, and she didn’t allow herself to think about it right then. Instead, she shut her eyes and leaned into him.

The kiss was ticklish, enchanting, time-stopping. So when Ike broke away, her brain malfunctioned. Lips still puckered, eyes still closed, she fell against him with a yelp. He chuckled, pulling her into an embrace. She buried her face in his chest, hiding her red cheeks. She didn’t care that he was shirtless. She probably would later, much to her dismay.

“Did I pull back too soon?” he teased.

She grumbled, “Don’t push it, Broflovski.”

Ike kept his arm firmly secured around her waist as they walked back to the waterfall. The place was quiet, now that the birds had quieted down. The bubbling of the river and rush of water, rustling leaves, and snapping of twigs underfoot were calming sounds. The closer they got, the talking of their friends was within earshot. Ike let go of her, though his fingers ghosted over her. Everyone was drying off and snacking. Nobody was in the water anymore.

Kyle was stretched out on a chair. A lantern was hanging off the back. “Oh you’re back. Just in time. We’re gonna start packing up soon, so if you wanna take one last dip, do it now,” he said.

“I’m good,” Ike replied. He looked to her. “Unless you’re going back in, Ruby.”

She dropped into an empty chair. She shook her head. “No thanks.” The moonlight reflected onto the water. It gleamed like glittery oil in the night sky.

“Well if you’re not gonna swim, then we should get ready to leave,” Kyle said. He stood and stretched. Then he folded up the chair. The others caught on and began ridding the waterfall of their presence. Tricia got to her feet and copied them.

All packed up and sitting in the car, Tricia watched through the window as the last chair was shoved into the last car. Stan slammed the trunk shut and got into the driver’s seat. He stuck his hand out the window, signaling he was ready to go. Token started the car and began the drive back home.

Tricia turned on her phone. The time was only 7:23, earlier than she’d thought it to be. Her phone pinged, receiving a text from Ike. **I’m guessing Craig didn’t tell you we’re gonna stop to eat somewhere,** he typed.

She replied, **No he didn’t. What gave it away?**

Ike put, **Your family’s bad at communication. Firkle and Karen are completely ignoring me. They’re so in love with each other that I’m third wheeling!**

Tricia snorted at her screen. **Or maybe it’s because you’re looking down at your phone. C’mon. Think logically, nerd. You’re riding with Kyle, right?**

**Yeah.**

**Maybe I should’ve rode with you. I don’t have any elbow room in this fucking car.**

They continued to text back and forth until the three cars stopped in front of a small diner. Everyone got out and went inside. Eric pushed ahead of everyone else, hand locked with Butters’, shouting, “Think of what you hoes want so we can order already!” People looked up from their food and conversations to stare wildly at them. He probably made everyone think there was a zombie apocalypse outside the glass doors.

Ike honed in on Tricia, taking his place at her side. “What are you gonna get?” he asked.

“Pancakes,” she said.

“With maple syrup?”

“I hate you sometimes.”

They were seated at the biggest table the restaurant had, and the waiter still had to add two chairs. Everyone ordered what they wanted. Ten minutes later, their food was set in front of them. Eating was boring. Conversations were held, but everyone was too starving to talk for more than five minutes. For dessert, everyone ordered ice cream, except for Eric and Tricia. The restaurant had cake as a dessert option. Who in their right mind would pass that up? Most of their group apparently.

“I’ll have a slice of red velvet cake, please,” Tricia requested. The waiter nodded and wrote down her order.

“Me too,” Eric said. “But chocolate.”

The waiter asked, “Anything else?”

Stan looked around at everyone. “I think we’re good, thanks.” The waiter walked off.

In front of her, Craig scolded, “You’re paying for that yourself, Ruby. The ice cream comes with the meal, but the cake is extra.”

Bitterly, she thought, _Do you think I actually care?_

She made a face. “What does it matter? You all have to split the bill six different ways anyway. Five dollars will only make it more complicated for the cashier to add up,” she said.

“I like the way you think,” Eric said. He threw his dirty napkin on his empty plate.

Token spoke up. “It’s okay, guys, I’ll pay. If it means keeping Ruby as far away from being like Cartman at all, I’ll sacrifice a couple hundred.”

“Or you could just pay me up front.” Eric raised an eyebrow at Token.

Kyle scoffed. “Don’t push it, Cartman. Thanks, Token,” he said.

Token nodded.

Cake was delivered and Tricia happily dug in. The slice was bigger than she expected, so she shared with her friends. It was almost nine at night when they all left. Eric belched, saying, “I love that restaurant.”

To Craig, Tricia said, “I’m gonna ride home in Kyle’s car.”

“Good. I’m sick of you,” Craig teased, gently pushing her towards the car.

Karen fell asleep on the drive back. Her head rested on Tricia’s shoulder. Firkle sat in the passenger seat, lowering the radio so Karen could sleep better. She was going to stay over at Tricia’s. Ike had his arm around Tricia’s waist the whole time, his head on top of hers. They didn’t say much. They didn’t need to.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey Lolita, hey!**  
**Hey Lolita, hey!**  
**I know what the boys want, I'm not gonna play**  
**Hey Lolita, hey!**  
**Hey Lolita, hey!**  
**Whistle all you want, but I'm not gonna stay**  
**No more skipping rope**  
**Skipping heartbeats with the boys downtown**  
**Just you and me feeling the heat**  
**Even when the sun goes down**

* * *

Morning breakfast was served at lunchtime. Craig, Tweek, Karen, and Tricia all slept in till eleven, considering how eventful the previous day was. Tweek had to prop his head up with his hand to keep from face planting into his empty plate. His coffee sat untouched, which, back then, would be bizarre, but now, not so much. Craig had ditched his chullo, showing the whole world his serious case of hat hair. Karen was the most awake of them all, moving with energy over sluggishness.

Last night, Tricia had dyed her hair back to its vibrant lilac over fading lavender. Tricia herself had never dyed her hair, but she wanted to. At the same time, she didn’t want to kill her hair by bleaching it. She knew how to do it; she’d seen her mother do it countless times.

Her friends were meeting at the basketball courts once again, since they had nothing to do. Tricia didn’t mind sitting around, doing whatever she wanted on her phone. She didn’t need to constantly be doing something. If anything, she preferred doing nothing. It seemed to run in the Tucker family.

Tricia stood and dumped her empty plate in the sink. She had eaten her leftover pancakes from the diner. Her dad had made pancakes for them all, but she couldn’t eat anymore after her leftovers. She’d had enough pancakes for a month.

When she turned around, she saw Tweek raising the mug of coffee to his lips. His eyes were dull and distant, too tired to do much. He took a sip. His coffee had probably gone cold long ago, but he didn’t show his disgust.

Craig sighed, leaning back in his chair. He rubbed his eyes. “C’mon, Tweek. Let’s go back to bed,” he mumbled. He sluggishly rose, taking Tweek up with him. Tweek leaned on him for support as they dragged themselves back up to Craig’s room.

Everyone got home late. After leaving the diner, they were all stopped by police. Kyle, along with the other drivers, were asked if they’d seen a white Ford drive by. Apparently, a suspect of the Summerton murder escaped interrogation, driving up to the mountains. Kyle told the officer no, but everyone still had to get out of their cars, which were searched thoroughly. All of that took three hours, so they didn’t get home until two in the morning.

Karen slept through the whole thing, using Tricia as a vertical bed as they were standing out in the muggy night air. Tricia switched off with Firkle every twenty minutes so her aching shoulder could have a rest. Ike stood next to her, holding her hand or keeping an arm around her waist. He was scared, Tricia could tell. During one of their hugs, he had squeezed her so tightly the air left her lungs. Firkle thought the whole thing was interesting, while Tweek was freaking out that a possible murderer was on the loose. Craig had to calm him down, comforting him with soothing whispers and assuring embraces or kisses to the cheek.

Karen didn’t wake up until Kyle pulled up in the Tucker’s driveway to let Tricia and Karen out. She jolted awake, asking, “What happened?”

Tricia sighed tiredly and told her she’d explain it later. She waved goodbye to Firkle and Ike, thanking Kyle for dropping her off. Then she lugged Karen into the house, telling the story.

Neither of them could sleep, so Tricia decided to dye Karen’s hair. After her hair was all washed out, Tricia crashed into bed, falling asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

 

It wasn’t as hot as it was the day before. It was cool enough to wear jeans, and that’s just what Tricia did. She put her hair in braids as she stepped into her favorite pair of ripped jeans. She checked herself in the mirror, giving her reflection a once-over. Sure, the rips were high up on her legs, but they were so frayed that no skin showed. She wore a black crop top that said “Censored” in white block letters across the bust. Karen got it for her, and she thought it was funny. Her hair wasn’t cooperating today, so locks of strawberry blonde were sticking out of the braids. An annoying piece of baby hair that was too short to fit anywhere kept falling in her face and wouldn’t stay when she swept it behind her ear.

Karen walked into the room and gasped. “You’re wearing the shirt I got you!” she exclaimed.

“I always wear this shirt,” Tricia pointed out.

“True, but still.”

The girls left the room. Tricia told her parents she and Karen were going to the park, and she’d be back later. During the walk, Tricia played music for the both of them. She’d never really cared if people were annoyed that she was playing her music out loud. They would just have to deal with it. At the park, Ike and Firkle were already waiting. Firkle looked like he wanted to die, but he always looked that way.

Karen bounded up to them, greeting them cheerily. At the sight of her, Firkle perked up. Tricia snorted. He just needed to ask her out already. This was getting miserable. Ike’s eyes landed on Tricia and stuck there. She always found new ways to make him stare without even trying. It was entertaining. Karen sat down on the bench next to Firkle, close enough that their legs touched. The goth’s face reddened instantly.

“Something wrong, Ike?” Tricia asked. She raised an eyebrow.

He blinked at her, proceeding to blush. “No,” he said. “Just… nice shirt.”

“I’ve worn this before.”

“You always have your jacket on.”

“Good point.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Tricia saw someone walk up to their little group. She turned to see it was Oliver. He scuffed his shoes on the pavement. “Hi, Tricia,” he mumbled.

“Hi, Ollie.”

There was silence. Even Firkle and Karen stopped talking to listen to what the boy in glasses had to say. Tricia could feel Ike tense up next to her when Oliver opened his mouth again. “Remember a couple weeks ago when my friends said that I, uh, liked you? Well… it was true, but… I don’t expect you to like me back or anything. I just think you should know I think you’re great… but out of my league. I think you’re better off with Ike anyway,” he said.

That last part took everybody by surprise. “Huh?” was all Tricia could muster.

He glanced up at her. “Ike likes you quite a lot, if you can’t tell. I think you guys would be good together. I don’t know you the way he does, and I don’t think I ever will. Your relationship reminds me of your brother’s, just, um… straighter. I don’t want to get in the way of that,” he explained.

“O-oh,” she said. She blinked rapidly, not really understanding what was happening.

Firkle said, “You got that right, kid. Ike claims to have liked Ruby since fifth grade, but he’s been trying to impress her since the first time he met her.”

“Firkle, now’s not the time,” Karen murmured to him.

He sent her an apologetic shrug, or something close apologetic. As a reward for his obedience, Karen rested her head on his shoulder. Or maybe she just wanted to do that.

Oliver nodded, suddenly confident in himself. “That’s all I came to say, in case you’d been wondering about it since that Friday. See you in school.” With that, he walked off, a bounce in his step.

No, she hadn’t been thinking of his crush on her. It slipped her mind completely. She’d had other things to worry about.

“You really know how to make boys fall head over heels, huh?” Ike joked.

She shrugged, a smirk on her face. “I know I do. It runs in the family. But don’t you worry.” She slid an arm around his shoulders, leaning her weight on him. She whispered in his ear, _“I know what the boys want, I’m not gonna play."_  It was a quote from “Lolita," not that Ike knew that, but it felt appropriate.

He blushed and leaned his head against hers.

After that, they all put the money they had on them together (except Karen, since they wouldn’t force her to do that) and decided they had enough to get themselves a meal at Buca de Faggoncini. The restaurant was probably the nicest in the whole town. City Wok had pretty crappy food, and nobody was going to Raisins. People barely glanced at the four teenagers laughing in one of the booths. Someone could probably get shot and no one would bat an eye.

After they were all finished eating, they put together their leftover food and gave it to Karen to bring home. Since Kenny had gotten a job at Tweek Bros, she had more to eat, but she was still skinny. Firkle always made sure she had something to eat. Tricia knew he hated how she never got enough to satisfy her hunger. That and he bought her clothes appropriate for the weather. Firkle wasn’t that nice to anyone but Karen. That made it so much more special.

The four had spent two hours at the restaurant, mainly messing around after they ate. By the time they left, the sun was setting. Firkle and Karen said their farewells, walking back to his house, where she would stay until Kenny got off work. Sometimes Karen stayed at Tricia’s house, sometimes Firkle’s. Tricia let Firkle have Karen four days a week, while she got three. Karen’s parents’ relationship had gotten increasingly worse, and a lot more physical. Kenny thought it was dangerous for his little sister to be around that, and he didn’t want her to have to see it either, so he let her stay over at her friends’ houses. Tricia didn’t think Karen’s parents realized their kids weren’t even sleeping in their house anymore. Tricia’s parents were glad to take Karen in, and she was sure Firkle never told his, but they’d gotten used to it.

Ike snuck his hand into Tricia’s. They looked at each other, then started the walk back home. They talked about things, like recent YouTube videos and dumb memes that would be dead in a week. They were lame that way. When they were standing on Tricia’s driveway, Ike just stared into her eyes, not saying a word. Tricia let him. She took at the fading sky. She loved sunsets. She looked back at Ike. He smiled, pulling her in close. Their noses touched. She let him kiss her. It was precious and soft. It lingered and made the world spin and fade at the same time. Tricia was quickly getting used to the sensation of Ike’s syrupy lips on hers. It was a savory little thing that she never wanted to end. When they pulled back, still close enough that their foreheads touched, Tricia murmured, “Have you noticed how we only kiss when the sun goes down?”

Ike shook his head against hers. “No. But can I keep doing it? Even if the sun’s rising or high above our heads?”

Tricia smiled, blushing down to her toes. “Be my guest.” And with that, their lips connected once more. He sucked on her bottom lip until she complied and parted her mouth. The tip of his tongue snuck past her teeth, and her blush intensified. She gripped his arms, squeaking at the feeling, and he pulled her to his chest, never breaking the kiss. Her hands trailed up to his head, cupping his cheeks, pressing his mouth harder to hers. His head tilted, venturing further, feeling her own tongue against his. She was melting into a lovesick, steaming puddle at his feet, and she loved it. The sun cast a vibrant orange glow behind them, making their hair shine and flutter in the light breeze.

Little did they know that Craig and Tweek sat at the window watching with wide grins, snickering, both pressing their phones to the glass, snapping pictures greedily.


End file.
